Brussels, 09/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission forwarded an independent audit report to Parliament and the Court of Auditors on the European Union's food programme for Russia of which it approves the conclusions. Decided upon in December 1998, this programme was solicited by the Russia authorities following the financial crisis and poor harvest. End-1999, the Commission decided to suspend the programme due to the war in Chechnya. The report recognises that the Commission attained the programme's main goal by providing 1.7 million tonnes of food in a very short time. The revenue from the sale was transferred to a special account to support government activities regarding pensions, health and labour. The report suggests, however, that the Russian government did not fully comply with its obligations, notably by not handing over the 15 million euro in arrears that it still has to pay to the account. In a press release, the Commission stresses that it has not ceased urging Russia to fulfil its obligations and that it has already blocked all further expenditure from the special account until the matter is resolved.