Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-05-10-Speech-2-214"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20050510.24.2-214"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, it is to be hoped Mr Smaghi will bring some semblance of financial discipline to the ECB.
Recently, I questioned the fact that the ECB had decided to double its printing of EUR 500 banknotes this year – the highest value banknotes in the world and the Russian mafia’s currency of choice, each one worth seven times a USD 100 bill. Last year, counterfeit EUR 500 notes rose by over 160%, and that is only the ones we know about. The Commission’s reply to my questions would have stunned even a simpleton. It said, ‘a strong demand for high-value notes could be met only by lower denominations and increasing printing costs’. Can you imagine that as a serious answer from a central bank? The reply went on, ‘EUR 500 banknotes are widely used for hoarding purposes’ – surprise, surprise! And finally, ‘there are no indications that high-denomination banknotes encourage illegal transactions’. Which planet do they live on? The ECB must be out of its tiny collective mind to encourage the wider circulation of such banknotes, and I believe Mr Smaghi has much work to do."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples