
Article 1 
The aim of this Regulation is to establish minimum standards for price collection periods in order to improve the comparability, reliability and relevance of HICPs.
Article 2 
The HICP is a sample statistic which shall represent the average change in prices between the calendar month of the current index and the period to which it is compared.
Article 3 

1. Price collection shall take place across at least a one working week period at, or near, the middle of the calendar month to which the index pertains.
2. Where products are known to typically show sharp and irregular price changes within the same month, price collection shall take place over a period of more than one working week.This rule shall apply in particular to the following products:
(a) energy products; and
(b) fresh food, such as fruit and vegetables.
Article 4 
The provisions of this Regulation shall be implemented in December 2007 at the latest and take effect with the index for January 2008.
Article 5 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.Done at Luxembourg, 25 April 2006.
For the Council
The President
J. PRÖLL