02/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 26 September, the European Commission adopted a regulation allowing direct monthly payments in favour of farmers in Romania and Bulgaria to be reduced by 25%, in case of failure to respect the control rules or abusive use of EU funds. The reduction of aid will apply to payments between 1 December 2007 and 30 November 2008 and can be extended if necessary. This regulation, which is published in Official Journal L269 of 28 September 2006, is part of the "accompanying measures" decided upon by the Commission when it recommended the accession of both countries to the EU as of 1 January 2007 (EUROPE 9273).