Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 (repealed)Show full title

Section 3 Specific support measures

Article 9 Single Payment Scheme and support to vine-growers

1. Member States may provide support to vine-growers by allocating to them payment entitlements within the meaning of Chapter 3 of Title III of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 in accordance with point O of Annex VII to that Regulation.

2. Member States intending to make use of the possibility referred to in paragraph 1 shall foresee such support in their support programmes including, as regards subsequent transfers of funds to the Single Payment Scheme, by way of changes to those programmes in accordance with Article 5(3).

3. Once effective, support as referred to in paragraph 1 shall:

(a) remain in the Single Payment Scheme and no longer be available, or be made available under Article 5(3), for the measures listed in Articles 10 to 19 in subsequent years of the operation of the support programmes;

(b) commensurately reduce the amount of funds available for measures listed in Articles 10 to 19 in the support programmes.

Article 10 Promotion on third-country markets

1. Support under this Article shall cover information or promotion measures concerning Community wines in third countries, thereby improving their competitiveness in those countries.

2. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 shall relate to wines with a protected designation of origin or geographical indication or wines with an indication of the wine grape variety.

3. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 may consist only of:

(a) public relations, promotional or advertisement measures, in particular highlighting the advantages of the Community products, especially in terms of quality, food safety or environmental friendliness;

(b) participation at events, fairs or exhibitions of international importance;

(c) information campaigns, in particular on the Community systems covering designations of origin, geographical indications and organic production;

(d) studies of new markets, necessary for the expansion of market outlets;

(e) studies to evaluate the results of the promotional and information measures.

4. The Community contribution to promotion activities shall not exceed 50 % of the eligible expenditure.

Article 11 Restructuring and conversion of vineyards

1. The objective of measures relating to the restructuring and conversion of vineyards shall be to increase the competitiveness of wine producers.

2. Restructuring and conversion of vineyards shall be supported in accordance with this Article only if Member States submit the inventory of their production potential in accordance with Article 109.

3. Support for restructuring and conversion of vineyards may only cover one or more of the following activities:

(a) varietal conversion, including by means of grafting-on;

(b) relocation of vineyards;

(c) improvements to vineyard management techniques.

The normal renewal of vineyards which have come to the end of their natural life shall not be supported.

4. Support for restructuring and conversion of vineyards may only take the following forms:

(a) compensation of producers for the loss of revenue due to the implementation of the measure;

(b) contribution to the costs of restructuring and conversion.

5. Compensation of producers for the loss of revenue as referred to in paragraph 4(a) may cover up to 100 % of the relevant loss and take either of the following forms:

(a) notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter II of Title V, the permission for the co-existence of both old and new vines for a fixed period which shall not exceed three years, until the end of the transitional regime concerning planting rights;

(b) financial compensation.

6. The Community contribution to the actual costs of restructuring and conversion of vineyards shall not exceed 50 %. In regions classified as convergence regions in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006(1), the Community contribution to the costs of restructuring and conversion shall not exceed 75 %.

Article 12 Green harvesting

1. For the purposes of this Article, green harvesting means the total destruction or removal of grape bunches while still in their immature stage, thereby reducing the yield of the relevant area to zero.

2. Support for green harvesting shall contribute to restoring the balance of supply and demand in the market in wine in the Community in order to prevent market crises.

3. Support for green harvesting may be granted as compensation in the form of a flat rate payment per hectare to be determined by the Member State concerned.

The payment shall not exceed 50 % of the sum of the direct costs of the destruction or removal of grape bunches and the loss of revenue related to the destruction or removal of grape bunches.

4. The Member States concerned shall establish a system based on objective criteria to ensure that the green harvesting measure does not lead to compensation of individual wine producers in excess of the ceiling referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 3.

Article 13 Mutual funds

1. Support for the setting-up of mutual funds shall provide assistance to producers seeking to insure themselves against market fluctuations.

2. Support for the setting-up of mutual funds may be granted in the form of temporary and degressive aid to cover the administrative costs of the funds.

Article 14 Harvest insurance

1. Support for harvest insurance shall contribute to safeguarding producers' incomes where these are affected by natural disasters, adverse climatic events, diseases or pest infestations.

2. Support for harvest insurance may be granted in the form of a financial Community contribution which must not exceed:

(a) 80 % of the cost of the insurance premiums paid for by producers for insurance against losses as a result of adverse climatic events which can be assimilated to natural disasters;

(b) 50 % of the cost of the insurance premiums paid for by producers for insurance against:

(i)

losses referred to in (a) and against other losses caused by adverse climatic events;

(ii)

losses caused by animals, plant diseases or pest infestations.

3. Support for harvest insurance may only be granted if the insurance payments concerned do not compensate producers for more than 100 % of the income loss suffered, taking into account any compensation the producers may have obtained from other support schemes related to the insured risk.

4. Support for harvest insurance shall not distort competition in the insurance market.

Article 15 Investments

1. Support may be granted for tangible or intangible investments in processing facilities, winery infrastructure and marketing of wine which improve the overall performance of the enterprise and concern one or more of the following:

(a) the production or marketing of products referred to in Annex IV;

(b) the development of new products, processes and technologies related to the products referred to in Annex IV.

2. Support under paragraph 1 at its maximum rate shall be limited to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises within the meaning of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises(2). For the territories of the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, the smaller Aegean islands within the meaning of Council Regulation (EC) No 1405/2006 of 18 September 2006 laying down specific measures for agriculture in favour of the smaller Aegean islands(3) and the French overseas departments, no size limits shall apply for the maximum rate. For enterprises that are not covered by Article 2(1) of Title I of Annex to Recommendation 2003/361/EC with less than 750 employees or with a turn-over of less than EUR 200 million, the maximum aid intensity shall be halved.

Support shall not be granted to enterprises in difficulty within the meaning of the Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty.

3. The eligible expenditure shall exclude the elements referred to in Article 71(3)(a) to (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005.

4. The following maximum aid rates in relation to the eligible investment costs shall apply to the Community contribution:

(a) 50 % in regions classified as convergence regions in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006;

(b) 40 % in regions other than convergence regions;

(c) 75 % in the outermost regions in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 247/2006 of 30 January 2006 laying down specific measures for agriculture in the outermost regions of the Union(4);

(d) 65 % in the smaller Aegean islands within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 1405/2006.

5. Article 72 of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 shall apply mutatis mutandis to support referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 16 By-product distillation

1. Support may be granted for the voluntary or obligatory distillation of by-products of wine-making which has been carried out in accordance with the conditions laid down in point D of Annex VI.

The amount of aid shall be fixed per % volume and per hectolitre of alcohol produced. No aid shall be paid for the volume of alcohol contained in the by-products to be distilled which exceeds 10 % in relation to the volume of alcohol contained in the wine produced.

2. The maximum applicable aid levels shall be based on collection and processing costs and fixed in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 113(1).

3. The alcohol resulting from the supported distillation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be used exclusively for industrial or energy purposes so as to avoid distortion of competition.

Article 17 Potable alcohol distillation

1. Support may be granted until 31 July 2012 to producers, for wine which is distilled into potable alcohol in the form of a per-hectare aid.

2. The relevant contracts concerning the distillation of wine as well as the relevant proofs of delivery for distillation shall be submitted before support is granted.

Article 18 Crisis distillation

1. Support may be granted until 31 July 2012 for voluntary or obligatory distillation of surplus wine decided upon by Member States in justified cases of crisis so as to reduce or eliminate the surplus and at the same time ensure supply continuity from one harvest to the next.

2. The maximum applicable aid levels shall be fixed in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 113(1).

3. The alcohol resulting from the supported distillation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be used exclusively for industrial or energy purposes so as to avoid distortion of competition.

4. The share of the available budget used for the crisis distillation measure shall not exceed the following percentage shares as calculated against the globally available funds laid down in Annex II per Member State in the respective budget year:

• 20 % in 2009,

• 15 % in 2010,

• 10 % in 2011,

• 5 % in 2012.

5. Member States may increase the available funds for the crisis distillation measure beyond the annual ceilings given in paragraph 4 by way of contributing national funds in accordance with the following limits (expressed in terms of percentage of the respective annual ceiling given in paragraph 4):

• 5 % in the wine year 2010,

• 10 % in the wine year 2011,

• 15 % in the wine year 2012.

Member States shall, where applicable, notify the Commission of the addition of national funds referred to in the first subparagraph and the Commission shall approve the transaction before such funds are made available.

Article 19 Use of concentrated grape must

1. Support may be granted until 31 July 2012 to wine producers who use concentrated grape must including rectified concentrated grape must to increase the natural alcoholic strength of products in accordance with the conditions laid down in Annex V.

2. The amount of the aid shall be fixed per % volume potential alcoholic strength and per hectolitre of the must used for enrichment.

3. The maximum applicable aid levels for this measure in the different wine growing zones shall be fixed in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 113(1).

Article 20 Cross-compliance

Where farmers are found not to have complied on their holding, at any time during three years from payment under the support programmes for restructuring and conversion or at any time during one year from payment under the support programmes for green harvesting, with the statutory management requirements and the good agricultural and environmental condition referred to in Articles 3 to 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, the amount of the payment shall, where non-compliance is the result of an action or omission directly imputable to the farmer, be reduced or cancelled, partially or wholly depending on the severity, extent, permanence and repetition of the non-compliance, and the farmer shall, where applicable, be ordered to reimburse it in accordance with the conditions set out in those provisions.

(1)

Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 of 11 July 2006 laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund (OJ L 210, 31.7.2006, p. 25). Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1989/2006 (OJ L 411, 30.12.2006, p. 6).

(2)

OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, p. 36.

(3)

OJ L 265, 26.9.2006, p. 1.

(4)

OJ L 42, 14.2.2006, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1276/2007 (OJ L 284, 30.10.2007, p. 11).