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Joint declaration

on the prices of agricultural products in Portugal

1 . The prices of agricultural products which shall be taken into consideration as reference prices for the application of the rules referred to :

- in Article 236 of the Act of Accession with a view to price alignment for products subject to classic transition ,

- in Article 265 ( 1 ) of the Act of Accession concerning price discipline during the first stage for products subject to transition by stages ,

shall be the price recorded in the acts of the Conference . Those prices were adopted , save in special cases , on the basis of the 1984/85 marketing year , and converted into ECU at the exchange rate obtaining at the beginning of the marketing year in question .

In addition to the level of those prices , the acts of the Conference also contain , for each product concerned , the detailed rules on price alignment and the detailed rules for the method of price compensation applicable respectively from :

- 1 March 1986 for the products subject to classic transition ,

- the beginning of the second stage for products subject to transition by stages .

2 . Should the Portuguese prices referred to in paragraph 1 , expressed in ECU , be higher than the common prices , the Portuguese prices expressed in ECU shall be maintained at a level corresponding to the prices recorded in the acts of the Conference .

With regard more particularly to the Portuguese prices fixed for the 1985/86 marketing year , if their level expressed in ECU pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 236 of the Act of Accession leads to an overrun of the variation for the 1984/85 marketing year between the Portuguese prices and the common prices , prices shall be fixed in ensuing marketing years so that any such overrun is totally absorbed at the beginning of the fifth marketing year following accession as indicated in Article 238 ( 3 ) ( a ) and during the seven first marketing years following accession as indicated in Article 265 ( 1 ) ( c ) of the Act of Accession respectively .

3 . For the prices referred to in paragraph 2 , any drop in common prices occurring before accession shall not be taken into consideration for the application of price disciplines .

4 . Should the Portuguese prices referred to in paragraph 1 , expressed in ECU , be lower than the common prices , their increase may not lead to an overrun of the common prices for the products in question .

The rate to be used for the conversion of the Portuguese prices in question into ECU shall be , for the products subject to classic transition , the rate used in the context of the functioning of the market organizations .

For the products subject to transition by stages , the rate to be used shall be that referred to in the last subparagraph of Article 265 ( 1 ) ( a ) .

No overrun shall be taken into account for the application of the rules relating to discipline or alignment referred to in paragraph 1 .

Where the prices referred to in paragraph 1 have not yet been fixed for the 1985/86 marketing year , the rules relating to discipline for the first stage shall apply to all the products in question during the interim period .

With regard to the products subject to classic transition , for the purposes of converting Portuguese prices into ECU , account will be taken , when they are converted to present worth during the interim period , of the difference between the conversion rate recorded at the beginning of the reference marketing year referred to in the acts of the Conference and the conversion rate obtaining at the time prices are fixed for the ensuing marketing year .

In addition , should the value of the escudo vary in relation to the value of the ECU between the time that the common prices are fixed and that of the implementation of the prices in Portugal , account will be taken of that alteration when applying the rules for conversion to present worth referred to above .

With regard to the products subject to transition by stages , for the purposes of converting Portuguese prices into ECU , the rule laid down in the last subparagraph of Article 265 ( 1 ) ( a ) shall apply .