500歐元面值鈔票或將成爲歷史
International terrorists, money launderers and German car buyers will have to rethink their currency options after the European Central bank moved to make the 500 bill a thing of the past.
在歐洲央行(ECB)採取行動讓500歐元面值的鈔票成爲歷史後，國際恐怖分子、洗錢者以及德國的汽車買家將不得不重新考慮其貨幣選擇。
While many Europeans have never set eyes on the purple notes — and few shops accept them — they have featured prominently in EU discussions about how to choke off terrorist financing, a key concern since the Paris attacks.
儘管很多歐洲人從未看到過這種紫色鈔票（而且幾乎沒有商店接受這種鈔票），但它們卻在歐盟(EU)有關如何遏制恐怖主義融資的討論中佔據了突出位置。自巴黎恐襲以來，恐怖主義融資一直是人們關心的一個重要問題。
Rob Wainwright, director of European police agency Europol, has called high-denomination notes the “currency of choice” for criminal and terrorist networks, while policymakers complain that many of the bills reside not in the eurozone, but in Russia.
歐洲刑警組織(Europol)負責人羅布溫賴特(Rob Wainwright)將大額鈔票稱爲犯罪和恐怖主義網絡的“首選貨幣”，而政策制定者抱怨稱，很多大額鈔票並不在歐元區內，而是在俄羅斯。
Speaking to European Parliament lawmakers in Brussels yesterday, Mario Draghi, ECB governor, gave his clearest indication yet that the note was on borrowed time, saying there was an “increasing conviction” that such notes were used for criminal purposes.
歐洲央行(ECB)行長馬里奧德拉吉(Mario Draghi)昨日在布魯塞爾向歐洲議會(European Parliament)議員發表講話時，給出了迄今最爲明確的暗示，示意這種鈔票已時日無多。他說，人們“日益確信”這種鈔票被用於犯罪用途。
Asked last week, Michel Sapin, France’s finance minister, said the 500 bill was “used more to conceal activities than to buy things, more used to facilitate dishonest activities than by people like you and me to get a bite to eat”.
上週，法國財政部長米歇爾薩潘(Michel Sapin)在被問到此事時表示，500歐元面值鈔票“更多地是被用來掩蓋一些活動、而不是購物，更多地是被用來爲不誠實活動提供便利、而不是被像你我這樣的人用來吃吃喝喝”。
Finance ministers last week called for a review of the notes but the decision on the 500 bill rests with the ECB. Although Mr Draghi stopped short of announcing an end to the note, an informal decision has been made to withdraw the bill, according to people briefed on the matter.
歐洲各國財長上週呼籲重新評估這種鈔票，但有關500歐元面值鈔票命運的決定將由歐洲央行作出。知情人士稱，儘管德拉吉沒有宣佈取消這種鈔票，但已作出了讓這種鈔票退出流通的非正式決定。
Taking the note out of circulation would be unpopular in Germany, which has a tradition of using high-value notes for big purchases.
這一決定將不會受到德國的歡迎，該國有使用大額鈔票購買大件商品的傳統。
According to a study published by Europol last year, shops often refuse to accept 500 bills. But they still account for one-third of the value of all euro bank notes in circulation.
根據歐洲刑警組織去年發表的一份研究報告，商店通常會拒收500歐元面值鈔票。但這些鈔票仍佔所有流通歐元鈔票價值的三分之一。
It highlighted the case of Luxembourg, which issued bills totalling 87.5bn in 2013, about twice its GDP, with a “significant proportion” in high denominations, although it is one of the most “cash averse” countries in the eurozone.
報告強調了盧森堡的例子，2013年，該國發行了總額875億歐元的鈔票，是該國國內生產總值(GDP)的2倍左右，其中大額鈔票的“比例很高”，儘管盧森堡是歐元區最“不喜歡現金”的國家之一。
Complicating matters, Bild, Germany’s highest circulation newspaper, launched a “hands off our cash” campaign aimed at Wolfgang Sch , the finance minister, to protest at plans to limit maximum cash payments.
令情況變得更爲複雜的是，德國發行量最大的報紙《圖片報》(Bild)發起了一項名爲“別碰我們的現金”的活動，矛頭直指德國財長沃爾夫岡朔伊布勒(Wolfgang Sch )，以抗議爲現金支付額設置上限的計劃。
