L_2008148EN.01000101.xml
| 6.6.2008 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | L 148/1 |
COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 479/2008
of 29 April 2008
on the common organisation of the market in wine, amending Regulations (EC) No 1493/1999, (EC) No 1782/2003, (EC) No 1290/2005, (EC) No 3/2008 and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 2392/86 and (EC) No 1493/1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| TITLE I | INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS |
| TITLE II | SUPPORT MEASURES |
| Chapter I | Support programmes |
| Section 1 | Introductory Provisions |
| Section 2 | Submission and content of support programmes |
| Section 3 | Specific support measures |
| Section 4 | General provisions |
| Chapter II | Financial transfer |
| TITLE III | REGULATORY MEASURES |
| Chapter II | Oenological practices and restrictions |
| Chapter III | Designations of origin, geographical indications and traditional terms |
| Chapter IV | Designations of origin and geographical indications |
| Section 2 | Application For protection |
| Section 3 | Procedure conferring protection |
| Section 5 | Protection and control |
| Section 6 | General provisions |
| Chapter V | Traditional terms |
| Chapter VI | Labelling and presentation |
| Chapter VII | Producer and inter-branch organisations |
| TITLE IV | TRADE WITH THIRD COUNTRIES |
| Chapter I | Common provisions |
| Chapter II | Import and export licences |
| Chapter III | Safeguard and inward and outward processing |
| Chapter IV | Rules applying to imports |
| TITLE V | PRODUCTION POTENTIAL |
| Chapter I | Unlawful plantings |
| Chapter II | Transitional planting right regime |
| Chapter III | Grubbing-up scheme |
| TITLE VI | GENERAL PROVISIONS |
| TITLE VII | AMENDMENTS, TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS |
| Chapter II | Transitional and final provisions |
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 36 and 37 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (2),
Whereas:
| (1) | The Community regime applying to the wine sector is laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine (3) and its implementing regulations. |
| (2) | Wine consumption in the Community has been steadily diminishing and the volume of wine exported from the Community since 1996 has been increasing at a much slower rate than the respective imports. This has led to a deterioration of the balance between supply and demand which in turn puts producers' prices and incomes under pressure. |
| (3) | Not all the instruments currently included in Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 have proved effective in steering the wine sector towards a competitive and sustainable development. The market mechanism measures have often proved mediocre in terms of cost effectiveness to the extent that they have encouraged structural surpluses without requiring structural improvements. Moreover, some of the existing regulatory measures have unduly constrained the activities of competitive producers. |
| (4) | Thus the current legal framework does not appear to enable the objectives set out in Article 33 of the Treaty, and in particular stabilising the wine market and ensuring a fair standard of living for the agricultural community concerned, to be attained in a sustainable manner. |
| (5) | In the light of the experience gained it is therefore appropriate fundamentally to change the Community regime applying to the wine sector with a view to achieving the following objectives: increasing the competitiveness of the Community's wine producers; strengthening the reputation of Community quality wine as the best in the world; recovering old markets and winning new ones in the Community and worldwide; creating a wine regime that operates through clear, simple and effective rules that balance supply and demand; creating a wine regime that preserves the best traditions of Community wine production, reinforcing the social fabric of many rural areas, and ensuring that all production respects the environment. It is therefore appropriate to repeal Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 and to replace it by this Regulation. |
| (6) | This Regulation has been preceded by an evaluation and consultation process to better identify and target the needs of the wine sector. An external evaluation report was commissioned and published in November 2004. To give stakeholders an opportunity to express their opinions, the Commission organised a seminar on 16 February 2006. A communication from the Commission Towards a sustainable European wine sector was published on 22 June 2006 along with an impact assessment listing a number of options for a reform of the wine sector. |
| (7) | From July to November 2006, discussions took place at Council level. In December 2006, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions adopted reports on the proposed wine reform options as set out in the communication from the Commission. On 15 February 2007, the European Parliament adopted its own-initiative report on the communication outlining conclusions which have been taken into account in this Regulation. |
| (8) | Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) (4) should eventually cover the wine sector as well. The Single CMO Regulation includes provisions of a horizontal nature, in particular on trade with third countries, competition rules, controls and penalties, exchange of information between the Commission and the Member States. To allow for easy future incorporation into the Single CMO Regulation, the provisions of this Regulation dealing with these horizontal issues should be aligned as much as possible on those contained in the Single CMO Regulation. |
| (9) | It is important to provide for support measures which are liable to strengthen competitive structures. While those measures should be financed and defined by the Community, it should be left to Member States to select the appropriate set of measures to meet the needs of their regional bodies, taking their particularities into account, where necessary, as well as to integrate them into national support programmes. Member States should be responsible for the implementation of such programmes. |
| (10) | The financial key to allocating the funds for the national support programmes among Member States should be related to the historical share of the wine budget as the main criterion, the area planted with vines and the historical production. However, this key should be adjusted with respect to situations where using the historical share of the wine budget as the main criterion would lead to an undue distribution of the funds. |
| (11) | One key measure eligible for national support programmes should be the promotion and marketing of Community wines in third countries. Restructuring and conversion activities should continue to be covered on account of their positive structural effects on the wine sector. Support should also be available for investments in the wine sector which are geared towards improving the economic performance of the enterprises as such. Support for by-product distillation should be a measure available to Member States which desire to use such an instrument to ensure the quality of wine, while preserving the environment. |
| (12) | Preventive instruments such as harvest insurance, mutual funds and green harvesting should be eligible for support under the support programmes so as to encourage a responsible approach to crisis situations. |
| (13) | Keeping some traditional measures for a transitional period is justified so as to alleviate the otherwise abrupt termination of the usual market measures so far financed through Community funds. The measures concerned are support for potable alcohol distillation, support for crisis distillation and support for the use of concentrated grape must. |
| (14) | Lastly, for various reasons Member States may prefer granting decoupled aid under the Single Payment Scheme to farmers. This possibility should therefore be open to Member States, and because of the particularities of the Single Payment Scheme any such transfer should be irreversible and reduce correspondingly the budget available for the national support programmes in subsequent years. |
| (15) | The financing of the eligible measures by the Community should, where practicable, be dependent on compliance by the producers concerned with certain environmental rules in force. Any non-compliance detected should give rise to corresponding reductions in payments. |
| (16) | Support for the wine sector should also come from structural measures under Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 of 20 September 2005 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) (5). |
| (17) | The following measures pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 should be of interest for the wine sector: setting up of young farmers and investments in technical facilities and marketing improvements, vocational training, information and promotion support for producers' organisations after entering quality schemes, agri-environment support, early |
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