Article 2

Member States shall take the necessary steps to express their consent to be bound by the Supplementary Fund Protocol, pursuant to Article 19(2) thereof, within a reasonable time limit and, if possible, before 30 June 2004 , with the exception of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia, which express their consent to be bound by the Protocol subject to the conditions set out in paragraph 3 of this Article.

Member States shall exchange information with the Commission within the Council, by 30 April 2004, on the date on which they expect their internal procedures to be completed.

The Czech Republic, Estonia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia shall take the necessary steps to express their consent to be bound by the underlying instruments and the Supplementary Fund Protocol, as far as possible by 31 December 2005 .