Brussels, 27/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - Last Thursday the European Commission decided to authorise Austrian, French and German aid regimes in favour of cattle breeders damaged by the BSE crisis. The Commission considers that such compensation is justified due to the extraordinary nature of the crisis. In Austria, the aid takes the form of income support granted to breeders in two regions, Burgen land and Vorarlberg, for 500,000 and 740,000 euros respectively. France has been authorised to pay for a part of the BSE screening costs (5.45 million euros in total) up to a maximum of 45 euros per test. In Germany, Saxony has been given the green light to pay out aid of 2 million euros as a contribution to the financing of tests, the incineration of meat and bonemeal and the disinfectionof abattoirs and farm holdings.