rice stability.
Inflation shall be measured by means of the consumer price index on
a comparable basis, taking into account differences in national
definitions.
ARTICLE 2
The criterion on the government budgetary position referred to in the
second indent of Article 109j(1) of this treaty shall mean that at the
time of the examination the Member State is not the subject of a
Council decision under Article 104c(6) of this Treaty that an excessive
deficit exists.
ARTICLE 3
The criterion on participation in the Exchange Rate mechanism of the
European Monetary System referred to in the third indent of Article
109j(1) of this Treaty shall mean that a Member State has respected
the normal fluctuation margins provided for by the Exchange Rate
Mechanism of the European Monetary System without severe tensions
for at least the last two years before the examination. In particular, the
Member State shall not have devalued its currency's bilateral central
rate against any other Member State's currency on its own initiative
for the same period.
ARTICLE 4
The criterion on the convergence of interest rates referred to in the
fourth indent of Article 109j(1) of this Treaty shall mean that, observed
over a period of one year before the examination, a Member State has
had an average nominal long-term interest rate that does not exceed
by more than 2 percentage points that of, at most, the three best
performing Member States in terms of price stability. Interest rates
shall be measured on the basis of long term government bonds or
comparable securities, taking into account differences in national
definitions.
ARTICLE 5
The statistical data to be used for the application of this protocol shall
be provided by the Commission.
ARTICLE 6
The Council shall, acting unanimously on a proposal from the
Commission and after consulting the European Parliament, the EMI or
the ECB as the case may be, and the Committee referred to in Article
109c, adopt appropriate provisions to lay down the details of the
convergence criteria referred to Article 109j of this Treaty, which shall
then replace this Protocol.

PROTOCOL
AMENDING THE PROTOCOL ON THE PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES
OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES,
CONSIDERING that, in accordance with Article 40 of the Statute of the
European Central Bank and Article 21 of the Statute of the European
Monetary Institute, the European Central Bank and the European
Monetary Institute s