Brussels, 19/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - In a decision published in the Official Journal L193 of 17 July, the Commission set out the rules pertaining to the appointment of members of the Conciliation Body for the clearance of the accounts of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF). In order to guarantee that this Body continues to function smoothly (as established by a decision in July 1994), while allowing for gradual developments in its composition, the Commission considers it appropriate to foresee the possibility of renewal by periods of one year after an initial mandate of three years. In a communication relating to this decision, the Commission designated Bernard Vial as chairman of the Conciliation Body during a period from 1 August 2001 to 31 July 2004. Conciliation procedure aims to bring divergent positions closer when the Member States challenge the refusal by the Commission to impute agricultural spending made by the Member States to the Community budget. The committee may be referred to by another Member State but, in order to avoid too many requests flowing in, requests must only concern spending that exceeds EUR 0.5 million or represents more than 25% of annual expenditure by a Member State.