Brussels, 23/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - Discussions with EU Cereals Management Committee have produced a unanimous agreement for different measures to take for helping farmers who have fallen victim to the floods. Therefore, German paying agencies will pay an advance of 50% of arable payments to farmers (budgetary cost about €516 million brought forward from the 2003 budget). The exceptional payment will be paid out between 1 September and 15 October instead of the normal period between 16 November and 31 January. The decision will be formally adopted by the European Commission at its meeting on 28 August to discuss further a comprehensive response for providing relief to flood victims in Central Europe. Representatives from Member States at the Management Committee also welcomed the proposal to make available in Austria, at a discounted flat rate price of €50/tonne - approximately 31.000 tonnes of cereals held in intervention stores in Austria. This measure will assist them in dealing with the extreme problems they are encountering in providing rations for their livestock. The budgetary cost is some €1.5 million. The proposal will be submitted for approval to the next Committee meeting on 29 August. The Committee gave favourable opinions on further proposals to complement the existing exceptional measures agreed at the Committee meeting on 8 August. These are: 1) advance of 50% of arable payments to farmers in southern Italy badly affected by persistent drought (some €300 million); 2) authorisation for flood affected farmers to stock and graze livestock on "set-aside" land (this measure also includes farmers in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom as well as farmers in the flooded regions of Austria and Germany.