3.3.2000 Official Journal of the European Communities L 58/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 475/2000 of 28 February 2000 amending Regulation (EC) No 3605/93 on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the third subparagraph of Article 104(14), Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament ('), Whereas: 1) The definitions of ‘government’, ‘deficit’ and ‘investment’ are laid down in the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the Euro- pean Community and in Regulation (EC) No 3605/93 (3 by reference to the European system of integrated economic accounts; Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 () replaced that system with the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community (here- inafter referred to as ‘ESA 95). The definition of ‘government debt’ laid down in the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure and in Regu- lation (EC) No 3605/93 needs to be further amplified by a reference to the classification codes of ESA 95; in the case of financial derivatives, as defined in ESA 95, there is no nominal value identical to that for other debt instruments; therefore, financial derivatives must not be included with the liabilities making up government debt for the purposes of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure; for liabilities which are subject to agreements fixing the exchange rate, this rate should be taken into account in the conversion into national currency. ESA 95 provides a detailed definition of gross domestic product at current market prices, which is appropriate for the calculation of the ratios of government deficit to gross domestic product and of government debt to gross (') Opinion delivered on 17 February 2000 (not yet published in the Official Journal). () O L 332, 31.12.1993, p. 7. () O] L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1. domestic product referred to in Article 104 of the Treaty. Consolidated government interest expenditure is an important indicator for monitoring the budgetary situa- tion in the Member States; interest expenditure is intrins- ically linked to government debt; government debt to be reported to the Commission by the Member States has to be consolidated within the government sector; the levels of government debt and of interest expenditure should be made mutually consistent; the methodology of ESA 95 (point 1.58) recognises that, for certain kinds of analysis, consolidated aggregates are more significant than overall gross figures; the way in which the figures on interest expenditure are to be provided to the Commission by the Member States should be clarified. The definitions and classification codes of ESA 95 may be subject to revision in the context of the necessary harmonisation of national statistics or for other reasons; revisions of ESA 95 or amendments to its methodology are decided by the Council or the Commission in accordance with the rules on competence and procedure laid down in the Treaty and in Regulation (EC) No 2223/96. Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 stipulates that the former European system of integrated economic accounts was to continue to be used for the purposes of Member States' reports to the Commission under the excessive deficit procedure during a transitional period until the reporting exercise of 1 September 1999, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Regulation (EC) No 3605/93 is hereby amended as follows: 1. Articles 1 and 2 shall be replaced by the following text: