Press Release: Commissioner Fischler signs pre-accession financing agreement with Estonia, Latvia and Poland

On 25.1, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, Franz Fischler, signed the Multi-annual Financing Agreements with Estonia, Latvia and Poland. The agreements outline EU management and control rules for agriculture and rural development programmes in the candidate countries. The signature is a vital step towards making the pre-accession agriculture programmes operational. The agreements preserve the principle of fully decentralised management by the candidate countries. Commissioner Fischler also announced that he would examine the possibility of extending the 2002 deadline for spending EU-funds earmarked for Sapard in the 2000 budget to 31.12.03.