diff --git a/src/Makefile.am b/src/Makefile.am
index 7af3c3da9fa25fed8a4ab25aa38e3147cfce1183..299b4e70bf5cfda193956e26c733aa11cae850c8 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/Makefile.am
@@ -109,10 +109,6 @@ AM_LDFLAGS = \
 	$(ALUGRID_LDFLAGS) \
 	$(PYTHON_LDFLAGS)
 
-# don't follow the full GNU-standard
-# we need automake 1.5
-AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS = foreign 1.5
-
 # pass most important options when "make distcheck" is used
 DISTCHECK_CONFIGURE_FLAGS = \
 	--with-dune-common=$(DUNE_COMMON_ROOT) \