PARIS — France continued to mint 10, 20 and 50 cent coins in December despite the European Commission warning that their design was not compliant with EU rules.
Last month, the Monnaie de Paris, the country’s mint, continued producing irregular coins for at least one day after Brussels informally told France that those coins could not circulate, according to French media outlet La Lettre.
The Monnaie de Paris produced the 10, 20 and 50 cent coins with a new pattern at the end of last year but later discovered that the way the stars of the EU flag had been depicted was not compliant with the European Commission’s very precise requirements.
France informally reached out to the Commission in November, before addressing a formal request to approve the new design. The Commission informally told France that the new design was not in line with EU rules, but the mint had already started producing the coins without waiting for Brussels’ green light, a French economy ministry official with direct knowledge of the file previously told POLITICO.
Countries are allowed to change the design of the “national” face of euro coins every 15 years, but they need the green light from the Commission as well as other eurozone governments, which have to be informed and have seven days to raise objections. The design of the new coins proposed by the French government and validated by the Commission is still a secret and will be unveiled before the spring, the French economy ministry said.
The case triggered a blame game between the monnaie and the government.
