Council Regulation (EEC) No 775/85 of 26 March 1985 amending Regulation (EEC) No 337/79 on the common organization of the market in wine

• Published date: 28 March 1985
• Subject Matter: Agriculture and Fisheries,Wine
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Communities, L 88, 28 March 1985,Gazzetta ufficiale delle Comunità europee, L 88, 28 marzo 1985,Journal officiel des Communautés européennes, L 88, 28 mars 1985

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Council Regulation (EEC) No 775/85 of 26 March 1985 amending Regulation (EEC) No 337/79 on the common organization of the market in wine

Official Journal L 088 , 28/03/1985 P. 0001 - 0006
Spanish special edition: Chapter 03 Volume 34 P. 0046
Portuguese special edition Chapter 03 Volume 34 P. 0046

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COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 775/85

of 26 March 1985

amending Regulation (EEC) No 337/79 on the common organization of the market in wine

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN

COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),

Whereas the use of musts in grape-juice production helps to reduce expenditure on the distillation of wine surpluses; whereas the use of such musts could be boosted by an effective scheme to promote the consumption of grape juice; whereas, therefore, the aid provided for in Article 14a of Regulation (EEC) No 337/79 (4), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3685/84 (5), should, for a number of wine years, be used partly to finance such schemes and, with a view to these schemes, be fixed at a level higher than that resulting from application of the said Article;

Whereas the vineyards in wine-growing zone A and those of the German part of wine-growing zone B are intended wholly for the production of quality wines produced in specified regions; whereas, however, some of the wine produced, in particular when certain yields per hectare are exceeded, may not be recognized as quality wine and may be marketed as table wine; whereas, to prevent too large quantities of such wine being offered for intervention, thus increasing intervention expenditure to an excessive extent, it is necessary to limit the quantities eligible for the distillation measures provided for by Regulation (EEC) No 337/79 in these zones; whereas, however, provision should be made for possible adjustment in order to avoid serious market disturbance;

Whereas the structural surpluses which are currently a feature of the wine sector require that the Community's vine-growing potential be reduced; whereas the said reduction may be secured, albeit gradually, by restricting the exercise of the right to replant; whereas it is appropriate that the provisions governing the said measure be adopted in the foreseeable future;

Whereas, in order to enable the Council to take a decision on the measures to be adopted in the field of enrichment, it is necessary to be in possession of very thorough knowledge, going beyond that afforded by the studies already made of certain points, of all the scientific, technical and economic aspects of the problem; whereas the Commission should therefore make an exhaustive study of the question, followed by a report to the Council and suitable proposals;

Whereas the trend of the table wine market in recent years calls for measures to allow more direct control over production; whereas, furthermore, surpluses are absorbed primarily through compulsory distillation; whereas provision must be made for such distillation to be instituted once it is clear that the market is in a state of serious imbalance and whereas precise criteria must be defined for the assessment of such imbalance;

Whereas, because of the weather and the impact of structural measures, the trend of production may differ between the production regions of the Community; whereas, to take fair account of this, the total quantity of wine for compulsory distillation should be broken

down between the various vine-growing regions of the Community on the basis of the disparity between their respective levels of production for the year and a reference level calculated on the basis of previous years and regarded as compatible with normal consumption of table wine; whereas the reference level is at present 85 % of average production in the preceding three years;

Whereas it is incumbent upon each Member State to supervise and implement this measure; whereas therefore, for the measure to be effective, the vine-growing regions should be grouped by Member State;

Whereas it is fair to share out the obligations between producers on the basis of their yield per hectare and to ensure that producers with low yields are not penalized; whereas differences between production regions warrant the application of differing rates to producers in the various regions;

Whereas, likewise, wine production should not be encouraged in the absence of commercial outlets; whereas it therefore appears advisable to lower the buying-in price of wine delivered for compulsory distillation, as its present level seems sufficiently attractive, if not to encourage the creation of new vineyards, at least to enable old vineyards to survive in the absence of any sales possibilities;

Whereas the present arrangements allow Member States not to take over alcohol which results from distillation; whereas this possibility, if made use of in Member States in which the production of table wine is very substantial, runs the risk of preventing compulsory distillation from being applied; whereas it therefore appears necessary to restrict this...