Brussels, 28/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - The EU Council adopted two decisions without debate (after Denmark had waived its parliamentary reservation) authorising France and Italy to pay national aid for the distillation of certain table wines. In a statement, Commissioner Franz Fischler recalled that, according to the Commission, this aid ("which only serves to improve the financial situation of producers without contributing to the sector's development") is considered as operational aid, incompatible with the common market, especially as it is "could distort the mechanisms of the common market organisations". The Commission says that "it reserves the right to turn to the Court of Justice for an annulment of the Council's decision", one day after the case of Portuguese aid taken to Court (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.7). French aid amounts to 39.84 million euro (amount paid to farmers to bring the price of wine up to the price offered by the Community for distillation and thus to make it more attractive) and relates to 4 million hectolitres of table wine. Italian aid amounts to 8.27 million euro, also for 4 million hectolitres.