By a declaration made at the time of signature of the Treaty of Amsterdam or at any time thereafter, any Member State shall be able to accept the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice to give preliminary rulings as specified in paragraph 1.

The General Court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine questions referred for a preliminary ruling under Article III-369, in specific areas laid down by the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

"Austria assumes that the question of the competence of the Court of Justice of the European Communities to give preliminary rulings will be settled favourably in the near future, and it will continue to work to that end."

By a declaration made at the time of the signing of this Protocol or at any time thereafter, any Member State shall be able to accept the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Communities to give preliminary rulings on the interpretation of the Europol Convention under the conditions specified in either paragraph 2 (a) or (b).

By a declaration made at the time of the signing of this Protocol or at any time thereafter, any Member State shall be able to accept the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Communities to give preliminary rulings on the interpretation of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests and the first Protocol to that Convention under the conditions specified in either paragraph 2 (a) or paragraph 2 (b).

"The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany states its intention, as regards the Protocol to the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests (officials), of reaching, through negotiation, an agreement on the competence of the Court of Justice of the European Communities to give preliminary rulings that is the same as that sought for the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests and by the same date."

"The Governments of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg take the view that, for this Protocol to enter into force, a satisfactory solution to the question of the competence to be conferred on the Court of Justice of the European Communities for the interpretation of the Protocol must be found by the end of November 1996, preferably within the framework of the current discussions on the conferral of competence on the Court of Justice to give preliminary rulings on the interpretation of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests."

A Court of First Instance shall be attached to the Court of Justice with jurisdiction to hear and determine at first instance, subject to a right of appeal to the Court of Justice on points of law only and in accordance with the conditions laid down by the Statute, certain classes of action or proceeding defined in accordance with the conditions laid down in paragraph 2. The Court of First Instance shall not be competent to hear and determine questions referred for a preliminary ruling under Article 234.

'Austria assumes that the question of the competence of the Court of Justice of the European Communities to give preliminary rulings will be settled favourably in the near future, and it will continue to work to that end.`

'The Governments of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg take the view that, for this Protocol to enter into force, a satisfactory solution to the question of the competence to be conferred on the Court of Justice of the European Communities for the interpretation of the Protocol must be found by the end of November 1996, preferably within the framework of the current discussions on the conferral of competence on the Court of Justice to give preliminary rulings on the interpretation of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests.`

'The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany states its intention, as regards the Protocol to the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests (officials), of reaching, through negotiation, an agreement on the competence of the Court of Justice of the European Communities to give preliminary rulings that is the same as that sought for the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests and by the same date.`

The provisions of paragraph (1) shall apply to the references for a preliminary ruling provided for in the Protocol concerning the interpretation by the Court of Justice of the Convention of 29 February 1968 on the mutual recognition of companies and legal persons and the Protocol concerning the interpretation by the Court of Justice of the Convention of 27 September 1968 on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, signed at Luxembourg on 3 June 1971, and to the references provided for by Article 4 of the latter Protocol.