Considerations on COM(1998)370 - Common organization of the market in wine - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(1998)370 - Common organization of the market in wine. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(1998)370  |
| date | May 17, 1999 |
(2) the aim of the common agricultural policy is to attain the objectives set out in Article 33 of the Treaty and in particular, in the wine sector, to stabilise markets and ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural community concerned; these objectives may be attained by adjusting resources to needs, in particular through the pursuit of a policy for the adaptation of wine-growing potential and a quality policy;
(3) the existing framework of the common organisation of the market in wine was established by Regulation (CEE) No 822/87(5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1627/98(6); in the light of experience it would be appropriate to replace it in order to address the current situation in the wine sector, which is typified by the fact that, while structural surpluses are less frequent, surpluses on a multiannual basis are still possible, however, in particular owing to the sector's inherent potential for dramatic fluctuations in production from one harvest to the next;
(4) the implementation of the Uruguay Round agreements in 1995 has resulted both in a more open Community market in which traditional intervention measures have now lost much of their potential impact, and in less scope for subsidised exports, which means that Community producers need to improve their competitive performance; the majority of exports are already being effected without subsidy;
(5) the most significant market problem currently facing certain parts of the Community wine sector is their limited ability to adapt sufficiently rapidly to competitive changes on both the internal and external market; the existing common organisation of the market has failed to offer solutions for wine-growing areas where production is clearly unable to find a remunerative market; there has been insufficient flexibility for those areas with expanding markets to allow scope for development;
(6) in 1994 the Commission presented a proposal for the reform of the common organisation of the market in wine which was not, however, adopted; the market situation has changed since that proposal was made;
(7) there should therefore be a reform of the common organisation of the market in wine to guarantee the necessary flexibility to adapt smoothly to new developments with the following broad aims: maintaining improved balance between supply and demand on the Community market; enabling the sector to become more competitive in the longer term; eliminating the availablility of intervention as an artificial outlet for surplus production; supporting the wine market and hence facilitating the continuation of supplies of wine distillates to those parts of the potable alcohol sector which traditionally use that alcohol; accommodating regional diversity; and formalising the potential role of producer organisations and sectoral organisations;
(8) Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 was supplemented and implemented by Regulations (EEC) No 346/79(7), (EEC) No 351/79(8), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1029/91(9), (EEC) No 460/79(10), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3805/85(11), (EEC) No 465/80(12), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1597/83(13), (EEC) No 457/80(14), (EEC) No 458/80(15), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 596/91(16), (EEC) No 1873/84(17), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2612/97(18), (EEC) No 895/85(19), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3768/85(20), (EEC) No 823/87(21), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No1426/96(22), (EEC) No 1442/88(23), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 859/199(24), (EEC) No 3877/88(25), (EEC) No 4252/88(26), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1629/98(27), (EEC) No 2046/89(28), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2468/96(29), (EEC) No 2048/89(30), (EEC) No 2389/89(31), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2088/97(32), (EEC) No 2390/89(33), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2611/97(34), (EEC) No 2391/89(35), (EEC) No 2392/89(36), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1427/96(37), (EEC) No 3677/89(38), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2796/94(39), (EEC) No 3895/91(40), (EEC) No 2332/92(41), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1692/98 and (EEC) No 2333/92(42), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1429/96(43); those Regulations have been substantially amended several times; since further amendments are to be made, they should be recast in the interest of clarity, in a single text;
(9) Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 made provision for the Council to lay down general rules for its application; this created a complex structure of layers of legislation; the aforementioned Regulations contained a large amount of technical detail which required frequent amendment; this Regulation should therefore, in general, contain all the necessary guidance for its application; the Council should confer all necessary implementing powers on the Commission in accordance with Article 211 of the Treaty;
(10) the rules governing the common organisation of the market in wine are extremely complex; in some cases they do not take sufficient account of regional diversity; as far as possible the rules should therefore be simplified and policy developed and implemented as close as possible to the producer within a Community framework;
(11) to capitalise on and consolidate the improved market balance, and to better align supply on demand for different types of product, there should be a framework of measures on the management of wine-growing potential, to include restrictions on planting in the medium term, premiums for the permanent abandonment of wine-growing and support for the restructuring and conversion of vineyards;
(12) structural measures not directly related to the production of wine should fall within the scope of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and repeating certain Regulations(44); measures related to promotion make an important contribution to the sector's competitive performance and notably the promotion of Community wine on third-country markets should be stimulated; however, in order to ensure consistency with the general promotion policy of the Community, measures related to the wine sector should fall within the scope of horizontal rules on this matter; for this purpose, the Commission has submitted a proposal for a Regulation on measures to promote and provide information on agricultural products in third countries(45);
(13) market balance has improved, albeit in a relatively slow and difficult manner; whereas the existing restrictions on planting have shown themselves to be the essential component in this achievement; in the light of experience it does not seem possible to use any other measures to capitalise on and consolidate the improved market balance; it therefore seems necessary to control the use of producers' property in this manner in accordance with the general interest;
(14) existing restrictions on planting should therefore remain in place for a period limited in the medium term so as to allow the full range of structural measures to take effect, and thus any planting of vines for wine production should be prohibited until 31 July 2010 unless otherwise permitted under this Regulation;
(15) the existing permission for new planting of areas intended for graft nurseries, land consolidation and compulsory purchase as well as wine-growing experiments has shown itself not to unduly disturb the wine market and should therefore be continued subject to the necessary controls; for similar reasons, it should also be possible to plant vines, the production of which is intended for consumption by the wine-grower's family;
(16) the existing permission for new planting to produce a quality wine produced in specified regions (quality wine psr) and table wine described by reference to a geographical indications has proved to be a useful component of the quality policy which is designed to better align supply on demand; however, once a reserve system of planting rights is fully functional, this latter system should fulfil this objective; the existing permission should therefore be continued, subject to the necessary checks, for a transitional period until 31 July 2003, by which time the reserve system should be fully functional;
(17) the existing permission to replant vines is necessary to allow the normal renewal of exhausted vineyards; the existing system should therefore be maintained subject to the necessary checks; for greater flexibility the system should also permit, subject to the necessary checks, the acquisition and use of replanting rights before the related grubbing-up takes place; replanting rights acquired under prior Community or national legislation should be respected; furthermore, it should be possible to transfer replanting rights to another holding, subject to strict controls, provided that this transfer is in pursuit of quality or conerns the areas intended for graft nurseries or is connected with the transfer of part of the holding; in order to ensure the smooth running of the common organisation of the market, these transfers should be maintained within the same Member State;
(18) in order to improve the management of wine-growing potential and to promote the efficient use of planting rights and thus to further mitigate the effect of the restrictions on planting, a system of national or regional reserves should be set up:
(19) Member States should be given broad discretion in the management of the reserves, subject to the necessary controls, so as to permit them to better align the use of the rights to plant such reserves on local needs; this should include the opportunity to purchase planting rights, to fund the reserve and to sell planting rights from the reserve; to this end, Member States should be allowed not to apply the reserve system, provided that they can prove that they already have an efficient system of managing planting rights;
(20) the grant of specific benefits to young wine producers may facilitate not only their establishment but also the structural adjustment of their holdings after their initial establishment; such producers should therefore be eligible for the grant of rights from the reserves free of charge;
(21) to ensure that resources are used in the most efficient manner and to better align supply on demand, planting rights should be used by their holders within a reasonable time, or failing that, should be allocated or reallocated to the reserves; rights allocated to the reserves should be granted within a reasonable time for the same reasons;
(22) in the light of the improved market balance and the expanding world market, there may be justification for increasing planting rights which should be allocated to the Member States concerned and, in part, to a Community reserve for allocation which is dependent on additional market demand; this increase should be reduced by the extent to which new planting rights have been authorised for quality wines psr and table wines designated with a geographical indication;
(23) notwithstanding the existing restrictions on planting, areas have been planted in breach of those restrictions; the existing sanctions, which are designed to ensure that the products of such areas do not disrupt the wine market, have proved to be difficult to enforce; areas planted illegally should therefore be grubbed up; this requirement should be imposed in respect of all illegal planting which takes place after the proposal for this Regulation has been published, from which time producers should have been aware of the proposal to introduce the requirement;
(24) without prejudice to any existing national measures, for reasons of legal certainty it is not possible to impose at Community level the grubbing-up requirement on areas planted in breach of restrictions before the proposal for this Regulation has been published; for better control of wine-growing potential, during a fixed period Member States should therefore be able to regularise the position of such areas, subject to the necessary controls; a different treatment may be provided for as far as regularisation is concerned, depending on the details of the planting in question, in particular where such planting is liable to lead to an increase in production; the producer involved may be subject to appropriate administrative penalties should such a risk occur;
(25) Member States should be able to take account of local conditions and therefore be able to impose stricter rules in respect of new planting, replanting and grafting-on, where necessary;
(26) there are wine-growing areas whose production is not aligned on demand; to encourage a better alignment of the sector as a whole, the permanent abandonment of wine-growing in such areas should be encouraged; a premium should therefore be granted to this end; the management of such a premium should be left to Member States to administer, whithin a Community framework and subject to the necessary controls, so as better to target the premium on the regions concerned; in particular Member States should therefore be able to designate the regions concerned and set the levels of the premium, using objective criteria and whitin an overall ceiling;
(27) production in those Member States whose wine production is below 25000 hectolitres per year does not seriously affect the market balance; those Member States should therefore be exempt from the restrictions on planting but should not have access to the premium for permanent abandonment of wine-growing;
(28) there are other wine-growing areas where production is not aligned on demand, but where production could be better aligned through restructuring of vineyards by varietal conversion, relocation of vineyards or improvement of vineyard management techniques; there should therefore be support to this end subject to the necessary controls;
(29) to ensure that such restructuring and conversion are carried out in a controlled fashion, they should be planned; plans should be drawn up at a level as close as possible to the producer to ensure that regional diversity is taken into account; nevertheless, in order to ensure that the plans are in conformity with Community law, Member States should remain responsible in the last resort for those plans;
(30) restructuring and conversion have two main financial impacts on the producer, namely loss of earnings during the period of conversion and the costs of implementing those measures; the support should therefore cover both of these impacts; in the restructuring process there is a place for additional national measures within specified limits;
(31) it is desirable for a better management of wine-growing potential for an inventory of such potential to be compiled at Member State or at regional level; to encourage Member States to compile the inventory, access to the regularisation of unlawfully planted areas, the increase in planting rights and support for restructuring and conversion should be limited to those who have compiled the inventory; in the case of regional inventories, those regions which compiled the inventory should not be excluded from eligibility for the restructuring and conversion measures because other regions have not compiled an inventory; however, all the regional inventories must be completed by 31 December 2001;
(32) the classification of vine varieties for wine production is a task best carried out as close as possible to the producer; Member States should therefore take over this task from the Community;
(33) Council Regulation (EEC) No 2392/86 of 24 July 1986 establishing a Community vineyard register(46), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1631/98(47), should remain in force to enable those Member States who are still in the process of compiling it to complete the task; however, provision should be made for its subsequent amendment or repeal;
(34) in order to preserve market balance, provision should be made for aid for the private storage of table wine and types of grape must; the measure should be as flexible and responsive to market movements as possible; to this end, it should therefore be possible in particular to terminate its application at short notice;
(35) in order to eliminate the availability of intervention as an artificial outlet for surplus production there should be changes to the distillation system; there should therefore be the following forms of distillation: compulsory distillation of by-products of wine-making, compulsory distillation of wine produced from grapes not classified solely as wine grape varieties, a distillation measure to support the wine market by promoting continuity of supplies of wine distillates in parts of the potable alcohol sector which traditionally use that alcohol, and a crisis distillation measure; other forms of distillation should be abandoned; these measures should be as flexible as possible to respond to market needs and specific regional conditions;
(36) in view of the poor quality of wine obtained from overpressing, this practice should be prohibited and provision should be made, in order to prevent it, for the compulsory distillation of marc and lees; however, derogations from this obligation may be envisaged in order to take account of conditions of production in certain wine-growing regions; in addition, since the production and market structures in wine-growing zone A and in the German part of wine-growing zone B are able to ensure that the aims of the measure are achieved, producers in these regions should not be obliged to distill by-products of wine-making but to withdraw such by-products under supervision;
(37) the production of wine obtained from grapes not classified solely as wine-grapes varieties should be directed in the first instance towards traditional uses in the spirits sector and other traditional outlets; provisions should be made for the compulsory distillation of such wine produced in excess of the normal quantities directed towards such uses;
(38) certain parts of the potable alcohol sector constitute an important traditional outlet for wine distillates and other wine-based products; there should therefore be Community support for distillation of table wine and wine suitable for yielding table wine to supply this market, in the form of a primary aid paid for distillation of such wines and a secondary aid for storage of the resulting distillate;
(39) in order to deal with exceptional cases of market disturbance and serious quality problems, there should be a crisis distillation measure; the level and format of aid should be determined by the Commission to take account of specific situations, including cases where a noticeable fall in the market price for a category of wine has been noted; the measure should be voluntary for producers; if this measure is applied for three years in succession in respect of a particular category of wine (in a particular zone), the Commission should submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report and, where appropriate, proposals;
(40) the disposal of alcohol obtained by distillation should be carried out in such a manner as to afford greater transparency and control and to avoid disturbance of traditional markets for alcohol;
(41) the increase in the natural alcoholic strength by volume is not at present carried out under the same economic conditions by all Community producers on account of the various oenological practices allowed by this Regulation; in order to eliminate such discrimination, encouragement should be given to the use of vine products for enrichment, thereby increasing their outlets and helping to avoid wine surpluses; in order to achieve this, the prices of the various products for enrichment should be aligned; this result may be achieved by means of a system of aid for concentrated grape must and rectified concentrated grape must coming from certain regions and used for enrichment;
(42) it remains necessary, in order to achieve a more stable balance between production and use, to increase the use of vine products; intervention appears to be justified further back than table wine production, by encouraging the use of must for certain purposes other than wine-making by means of aid to ensure that Community wine products may maintain their traditional market outlets; the measure should be applied so as to avoid distortions of competition, taking into account traditional production methods;
(43) producers who have not fulfilled their obligations under compulsory distillation measures should not be allowed to benefit from any other intervention measures;
(44) provision should also be made for possible measures in the case of high prices on the Community market;
(45) given the special features of the market in wine, the formation of producers' organisations is likely to contribute to the attainment of the objectives of the common organisation of the market; Member States may recognise such organisations; the latter must be formed on a voluntary basis and must prove their utility through the scope and efficiency of the services offered by producer organisations to their members;
(46) in order to improve the operation of the market for quality wines psr and table wines with a geographical indication, Member States should be able to implement decisions taken by sectoral organisations; the scope of such decisions should exclude certain concerted practices; the Commission should ensure that such decisions conform with Community law; the sectoral organisations should perform certain tasks, taking into account consumers' interests;
(47) for health reasons and in pursuit of quality, authorised oenological processes and practices should be laid down at Community level, these being the only ones permitted for use in the manufacture of products covered by this Regulation; for similar reasons, only wine grape varieties should be used to produce wines for human consumption;
(48) in view of the fact that production conditions, in particular soil, terrain and climate, vary considerably from one Community wine-growing area to another, it is essential that such variations are taken into account with regard to oenological practices and processes; for reasons of simplicity and to facilitate the modifications based on experience and technological progress, certain technical limits and conditions connected with these practices and processes should be defined in the detailed rules of implementation; nevertheless, the limits concerning the levels of sulphur dioxide, sorbic acid and potassium sorbate should be laid down in this Regulation in view of their importance for health;
(49) provision should be made for authorised methods of analysis for wine-sector products;
(50) the description, designation and presentation of products covered by this Regulation can have significant effects on their marketability; this Regulation should therefore lay down rules in this connection which take into account the legitimate interests of consumers and producers and promote the smooth operation of the internal market and the production of quality products; the fundamental principles of these rules should provide for the obligatory use of certain terms so as to identify the product and provide consumers with certain important items of information and the optional use of other information on the basis of Community rules or subject to rules concerning the prevention of fraudulent practices;
(51) the rules concerning in particular designation should include provisions on the prevention of fraudulent practices, penalties at Community level to be applied in the event of improper labelling, use of languages, in particular when different alphabets are involved, and the use of brand names, especially when these could cause confusion amongst consumers;
(52) in view of the differences between products covered by this Regulation and their markets, and the expectations of consumers and traditional practices, the rules should be differentiated according to the products concerned, in particular as far as sparkling wine is concerned and according to their origin;
(53) rules should also be applied to the labelling of imported products, in particular to clarify their origin and to avoid any confusion with Community products;
(54) the right to use geographical indications and other traditional terms is a valuable one; the rules should therefore govern this right and provide for protection for these terms; to promote fair competition and so as not to mislead consumers, this protection may need to affect products not covered by this Regulation, including those not found in Annex I to the Treaty;
(55) bearing in mind the interests of consumers and the desirability of obtaining equivalent treatment for quality wine psr in third countries, provisions should be made so that reciprocal arrangements can be established whereby wines imported for direct human consumption and bearing a geographical description and marketed in the Community may enjoy these protection and control arrangements;
(56) in order to take account of the obligations arising, in particular, from Articles 23 and 24 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Righs, which forms an integral part of the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation approved by Decision 94/800/EC(48), provision should be made for the parties concerned to prevent, under certain conditions, the unlawful use of geographical designations protected by a third-country member of the WTO;
(57) the development of a policy of encouraging quality production in agriculture and especially in wine growing is bound to contribute to the improvement of conditions on the market and, as result, to an increase in outlets; the adoption of additional common rules which concern the production and control of quality wines psr falls within the framework of this policy and can contribute towards the attainment of those objectives;
(58) in order to maintain a minimum quality standard for quality wines psr, to avoid an uncontrollable expansion in the production of such wines, and to harmonise the provisions of the Member States so as to establish conditions of fair competition in the Community, a framework of Community rules should be adopted, governing the production and control of quality wines psr, with which the specific provisions adopted by the Member States will have to comply;
(59) taking into account traditional conditions of production, the nature and scope of the factors which enable each of the quality wines psr to be distinguished must be listed and defined; a common move to harmonise quality requirements should nevertheless be made; these factors should be: the demarcation of the area of production, vine varieties, cultivation methods, wine-making methods, minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume, yield per hectare and analysis and assessment of organoleptic characteristics; particular rules should be laid down for quality liqueur wines psr and quality sparkling wines psr given the particular nature of those products;
(60) experience has shown the need to draw up precise rules for reclassifying quality wines psr as table wines and to specify the cases in which the producer has the option of not requesting that a product appearing in his harvest or production declaration as a product suitable for yielding a quality wine psr be classified as a quality wine psr;
(61) in order to preserve the particular quality characteristics of quality wines psr, Member States should be allowed to apply additional or more stringent rules governing the production and movement of quality wines psr, in accordance with fair and traditional practices;
(62) the creation of a single Community market for wine involves the introduction of a single trading system at the external frontiers of the Community; a trading system including import duties and export refunds, in addition to the external market measures, should, in principle, stabilise the Community market; the trading system should be based on the undertakings accepted under the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations;
(63) in order to monitor the volume of trade in wine with third countries, provision should be made for a system of import and export licences for certain products, which includes the lodging of a security to guarantee that the transactions for which such licences are granted are effected;
(64) in order to prevent or counteract adverse effects on the Community market which could result from imports of certain agricultural products, imports of one or more such products should be subject to payment of an additional import duty, if certain conditions are fulfilled;
(65) it is appropriate, under certain conditions, to confer on the Commission the power to open and administer tariff quotas resulting from international agreements concluded in accordance with the Treaty or from other acts of the Council;
(66) provisions for granting a refund on exports to third countries, based on the difference between prices within the Community and on the world market, and falling within the WTO Agreement on Agriculture(49), should serve to safeguard Community participation in international trade in wine; these refunds should be subject to limits in terms of quantity and value;
(67) compliance with the value limits should, when refunds are fixed, be ensured through the monitoring of payments under the rules relating to the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund; monitoring can be facilitated by the compulsory advance fixing of refunds, while allowing the possibility, in the case of differentiated refunds, of changing the specified destination within a geographical area to which a single refund rate applies; in the case of a change of destination, the refund applicable to the actual destination should be paid, with a ceiling on the amount applicable to the destination fixed in advance;
(68) ensuring compliance with the quantity limits calls for the introduction of a reliable and effective system of monitoring; to that end, the granting of refunds should be made subject to an export licence; refunds should be granted up to the limits available, depending on the particular situation of each product concerned; exceptions to that rule should only be permitted in the case of food-aid operations, which are exempt from any limit; monitoring of the quantities exported with refunds during the marketing years as referred to in the WTO Agreement on Agriculture should be carried out on the basis of export licences issued for each marketing year;
(69) in addition to the system described above, and to the extent necessary for its proper working, provision should be made for regulation or, when the situation on the market so requires, prohibiting the use of inward-processing arrangements;
(70) the customs duty system makes it possible to dispense with all other protective measures at the external frontiers of the Community; however, the internal market and duty mechanism could, in exceptional circumstances, prove defective; in such cases, so as not to leave the Community market without defence against any disturbances which may arise therefrom, the Community should be able to take all necessary measures without delay; those measures should be in accordance with the obligations derived from the relevant WTO agreements;
(71) products imported from third countries should be subject to rules on certain product specifications which ensure a measure of balance with Community definitions of wines; they should also comply with any rules laid down in their country of origin and be accompanied by an analysis report in appropriate circumstances;
(72) it should be provided that all the products covered by this Regulation should be furnished with an accompanying document when circulating within the Community;
(73) the establishment of a single market would be jeopardised by the granting of certain aids; the provisions of the Treaty which allow the assessment of aids granted by Member States and the prohibition of those which are incompatible with the common market should therefore apply in the common market organisation for wine; the provisions on premiums for the permanent abandonment of wine-growing should not of themselves preclude the granting of national aid for the same ends;
(74) given the necessary complexity of the rules in the wine sector, Member States' authorities should be responsible for ensuring compliance; the Commission should itself be able to monitor and ensure such compliance through its own inspectors collaborating with Member States' authorities;
(75) it is necessary that, as the common market in wine develops, the Member States and the Commission should keep each other supplied with the information necessary for applying this Regulation; producers of grapes for wine-making, must and wine should make a harvest declaration since this information is necessary; Member States should be able to request further information from producers; the Commission should be permitted to use external assistance when assessing any data;
(76) in order to facilitate implementation of the proposed measures, a procedure should be provided for establishing close cooperation between Member States and the Commission within a management committee;
(77) expenditure incurred by the Member States as a result of the obligations arising out of the application of this Regulation should be financed by the Community in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999 on the financing of the common agricultural policy(50);
(78) the common organisation of the market in wine should take appropriate account, at the same time, of the objectives set out in Articles 33 and 131 of the Treaty;
(79) the common organisation of the market in wine should also be applied in the light of the agreements concluded under Article 300(2) of the Treaty, in particular those forming a part of the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation, notably that on technical barriers to trade;(51)
(80) the change from the arrangements in Regulation (EC) No 822/87 and the other Regulations in the wine sector to those in this Regulation could give rise to difficulties which are not dealt with in this Regulation; in order to deal with that eventuality, provision should be made for the Commission to adopt the necessary transitional measures; the Commission should also be authorised to solve specific practical problems.