Press Release: Commission proposes new farm funding rules for candidate countries

The European Commission adopted a Communication on 26.1.00 on the financial management of the new agricultural pre-accession instrument SAPARD. The Commission envisages a decentralised management approach - from project selection to payments. Each candidate country will have to establish a SAPARD agency which will be audited by the Commission before first payments will be made. To ensure the proper use of euro 520 million of EU funds a year for targeted rural development measures a clearance of accounts procedure shall apply, allowing for financial corrections in the case of non-respect of SAPARD rules like, for example, a lack of controls at national level. In the weeks to come the Commission will put forward a formal implementing regulation which follows the guidelines of the present communication.