Brussels, 29/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - The EU Council of Ministers noted on Monday the report No 4/2001 from the Court of Auditors concerning the implementation of the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) for agricultural aid (see details of the Court's report in EUROPE of 31 July 2001). The Council acknowledges that the different "interpretations" of the IACS rules, in the Member States, have the effect of leading to inequality of treatment between EU farmers. It calls on the Commission to specify and simplify the current rules in order to remedy this problem of interpretation and to facilitate the application of sanctions, as well as to carry out cost/benefit analyses on the IACS "from reliable financial information concerning sanctions". The Council also recommends the adoption of more appropriate control measures by the Member States in order to guarantee that aid is not the subject of undue double payments. We recall that the IACS was set in place to reduce the risk of irregularities and fraud resulting from the rise in the number of beneficiaries of direct aid after CAP reform in 1992.