Italy to issue €2 EU constitution coin

Rome has announced a €2 euro coin commemorating the signing of the EU constitution despite referendum rejections in France and the Netherlands.

The Republic of Italy has unveiled a design for 18 million coins to be minted marking the signing of the EU constitution in Rome last October.

The commemorative coin plan has been officially announced despite the ‘Treaty of Rome’ being blocked by French and Dutch voters last May and June.

The special issue - already dubbed the "coin-stitution" - is for general circulation, and is not a limited edition collectors special.

The €2 piece will end up in the pockets of all euro users, a development that may surprise French and Dutch voters after both countries rejected the European constitution celebrated on the coin.

The European Commission has published the Italian Republic’s coin design in Wednesday’s EU Official Journal.

All new coins – including commemorative issues that are legal tender – must be publicised in the journal to avoid chaos in Europe’s banks and at the eurozone’s shop check outs.

This procedure may be all the more necessary for EU citizens doing a double-take on coins depicting a non existent constitution.

The ‘factual description’ (see picture) of the design describes the standard €2 coin’s special reverse side.

“The inner part of the coin shows a representation of Europa and the
bull. Europa holds a pen and the text of the European constitution,” states the OJ.

“The words 'Costituzione Europea' form a quasi-semicircle on the lower part of the outer ring. Twelve stars are depicted on the upper part of the outer ring.”

Brussels has refused to comment on any political overtones to the Italian coin, during a period the EU is supposed to be holding open-ended dialogue on the constitution's future.

A commission economic and monetary affairs spokeswoman played down the coin’s political impact in France or the Netherlands.

“These coins will probably be snapped up by collectors and disappear from circulation,” she said.

“A coin commemorating the constitution is likely to be a collectors item.”

The ill-fated constitution was signed amid high ceremony in Rome on October 29 2004 in the same room as the EU’s founding 1957 Treaty of Rome.

Berlusconi’s constitution coup for Rome was despite his failure to negotiate a final text in December 2003 under his EU presidency.

A deal was finally done in June 2004 in Ireland’s EU presidency term but for ‘symbolic’ reasons the constitution signing remained in Rome rather than Dublin.

Italy ratified the EU constitution by parliamentary procedure before French and Dutch voters consigned the text to the dustbin.

Attempts to revive the EU constitution are not expected until 2007 and the treaty is currently mothballed.

Following the 2002 introduction of the euro into circulation, the commission upheld a freeze on commemorative coins to allow citizens to grow used to the new currency.

The moratorium was lifted at the start of 2004 but national designs must meet common criteria for features – allowing citizens to recognise the genuine article.

Since last year, Greece has issue 50 million Olympic commemorative coins, Italy a €2 piece making 10 years of the UN food programme and Spain has issued a special 400th anniversary edition to mark Miguel Cervantes’ Don Quixote.

“Since 2004 we have continued with tradition, a tradition applied in some countries more than others,” said the spokeswoman.

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