22/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - Monday in Brussels, the Council approved: - the transformation of the Interim Political and Security Committee into a permanent one; - conclusions on the Middle East (Mr Patten announced that the Commission would grant to the Palestinian Authority a new financial budget of EUR 30 million); - the working programme for the Ukraine; - the working plan with Russia; - a declaration on El Salvador; - conclusions on the report by the Court of Auditors on the Cohesion fund. Moreover it discussed the "Balkans syndrome" by agreeing to wait for the results of the studies by the European Committee of Scientific Experts called for by the Commission, the WHO and the UN on the impact of depleted Uranium, before any possible action.