agricultural conversion rates

Agricultural conversion rates were used for this purpose, and in recent years these rates have deviated more and more from the actual market conversion rates and thus from the value of the ECU.

The abolition of the green rates and the introduction of the euro on 1 January 1999 have resulted in a fall of 1 % to 2 % in the agricultural conversion rates in each Member State.

In conclusion I would like to say that the Commission agrees with the guidelines which are listed in the resolution concerning the future agri-monetary system, i.e. simplicity and transparency, a limited number of changes to the agricultural conversion rates and manageable costs.

We do not yet know which or how many currencies will participate and we have no idea what exchange rates will be set, so nor do we know anything about the monetary deviations between these exchange rates and the current agricultural conversion rates.

Instead, they continued to use a form of fixed exchange rates for agricultural support, resulting in the so called 'agricultural conversion rates' or 'green exchange rates', including the green pound after the United Kingdom's accession to the EEC on 1 January 1973.