Convergence criteria

The criteria following the Maastricht agreement as laid own down in Article 121.1 of the EC Treaty. They comprise the following:
- price stability: inflation rate not exceeding by more than 1.5 percentage points that of three best performing countries;
- public finances: absence of an excessive government deficit, which is defined in terms of the government deficit having to be below the reference value of 3% of GDP and the level and evolution of the government debt compared to the reference value of 60% of GDP;
- exchange rate stability: observance of the normal margins of the exchange rate mechanism of the EMS without severe tensions or devaluation for 2 years;
- long term interest rates: not exceeding by more than 2 percentage points that of the three best performing countries in terms of price stability.

The Treaty moreover requires an examination of the compatibility of the country's national legislation, including the statutes of its national central bank, with the relevant provisions of the Treaty.