European Union" "
A green light for the draft budget of the European Union for 2002. On the night between 21 and 22 November the European Council and Parliament reached provisional agreement even on the most controversial chapters in the budget. In particular, as regards agriculture (the sector that absorbs 50% of EU expenditure), it was decided that the Commission will present, as from March 2002, an annual report on the export of livestock and respect for the rights of animals. As regards the commitments for Afghanistan, both Council and Parliament endorsed a minimum appropriation of 70 million euros for actions of external cooperation and 35 million euros for humanitarian aid. A compromise was also reached on the question of the restructuring of the fishing fleets of Spain and Portugal made necessary by the cancellation of the fishing accord with Morocco. Spread over two years, the modernization of the fishing fleets of the two Iberian countries may benefit from a European co-financing of 197 million euros. The controversial issue of support for the management of the consequences of EU enlargement for frontier zones was also resolved: 65 million euros will altogether be allocated to help the European frontier regions. The final draft of the budget ought to be approved in the course of the plenary session of the European Parliament in December.
