Brussels, 13/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to contribute EUR 8.2 million to a programme for supporting a West African regional integration programme with the establishment of a system for accreditation, standardisation and quality promotion for the West African Regional Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA - Union Economique et Monétaire ouest Africaine). The programme will be implemented by UNIDO, a United Nations agency specialised in the promotion of sustainable industrial development. Its aim is in line with the European cooperation policy guidelines recently defined by the EU Council (see pages 6/7). The countries included in the programme are Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.