Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 (repealed)Show full title

CHAPTER II Transitional planting right regime

Article 90 Transitional prohibition on planting vines

1. Without prejudice to Article 24 and in particular paragraph 3 thereof, the planting of vines of wine grape varieties classifiable according to Article 24(1) shall be prohibited until 31 December 2015.

2. Until 31 December 2015, grafting-on of wine grape varieties classifiable according to Article 24(1) to varieties other than wine grape varieties referred to in that Article shall also be prohibited.

3. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2, plantings and grafting-on as referred to in those paragraphs shall be allowed if covered by:

(a) a new planting right, as provided for in Article 91;

(b) a replanting right, as provided for in Article 92;

(c) a planting right granted from a reserve as provided for in Articles 93 and 94.

4. The planting rights referred to in paragraph 3 shall be granted in hectares.

5. Articles 91 to 96 shall apply until 31 December 2015.

6. Member States may decide to maintain the prohibition referred to in paragraph 1 in their territory or parts of their territory until 31 December 2018 at the latest. In such case the rules governing the transitional planting right regime as laid down in this Chapter including this Article shall apply accordingly in the given Member State.

Article 91 New planting rights

1. Member States may grant new planting rights to producers in respect of areas:

(a) intended for new plantings carried out under measures for land consolidation or measures concerning compulsory purchases in the public interest adopted under national legislation;

(b) intended for experimental purposes;

(c) intended for graft nurseries; or

(d) whose wine or vine products are intended solely for the consumption by the wine-grower's household.

2. New planting rights granted shall:

(a) be exercised by the producer to whom they are granted;

(b) be used before the end of the second wine year after the one in which they were granted;

(c) be used for the purposes for which they were granted.

Article 92 Replanting rights

1. Member States shall grant replanting rights to producers who have grubbed up an area planted with vines.

However, grubbed-up areas for which a grubbing-up premium is granted in accordance with Chapter III shall not generate replanting rights.

2. Member States may grant replanting rights to producers who undertake to grub up an area planted with vines. In such cases, the grubbing-up of the pledged area shall be carried out at the latest at the end of the third year after which new vines for which the replanting rights had been granted have been planted.

3. Replanting rights granted shall correspond to the equivalent of the grubbed-up area in terms of pure crop.

4. The replanting rights shall be exercised on the holding in respect of which they were granted. Member States may further stipulate that such replanting rights may be exercised only on the area where the grubbing-up was carried out.

5. By way of derogation from paragraph 4, Member States may decide that replanting rights may be transferred, in whole or in part, to another holding in the same Member State in the following cases:

(a) part of the holding concerned is transferred to that other holding;

(b) areas on that other holding are intended for:

(i)

the production of wines with a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication; or

(ii)

the cultivation of graft nurseries.

Member States shall ensure that the application of the derogation provided for in the first subparagraph does not lead to an overall increase in production potential on their territory, in particular when transfers are made from non-irrigated to irrigated areas.

6. Paragraphs 1 to 5 shall apply mutatis mutandis to rights similar to replanting rights acquired under prior Community or national legislation.

7. Replanting rights granted under Article 4(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 shall be used within the periods provided for therein.

Article 93 National and regional reserve of planting rights

1. In order to improve management of the production potential Member States shall create a national reserve or regional reserves of planting rights.

2. Member States which have established national or regional reserves of planting rights under Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 may maintain those reserves as long as they apply the transitional planting right regime in accordance with this Chapter.

3. The following planting rights shall be allocated to the national or regional reserves if they are not used within the prescribed period:

(a) new planting rights;

(b) replanting rights;

(c) planting rights granted from the reserve.

4. Producers may transfer replanting rights to the national or regional reserves. The conditions of such transfer, where necessary in return for a payment from national funds, shall be determined by the Member States taking into account the legitimate interests of the parties.

5. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may decide not to implement a reserve system provided that they can prove that an effective alternative system for managing planting rights exists throughout their territory. The alternative system may, where necessary, derogate from the relevant provisions of this Chapter.

The first subparagraph shall also apply to Member States which cease the operation of national or regional reserves under Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999.

Article 94 Granting planting rights from the reserve

1. Member States may grant rights out of a reserve:

(a) without payment, to producers who are under 40 years of age, who possess adequate occupational skill and competence, who are setting up for the first time and who are established as the head of the holding;

(b) against payment into national or, if appropriate, regional funds, to producers who intend to use the rights to plant vineyards whose production has an assured outlet.

Member States shall define the criteria for setting the amounts of the payment referred to in (b), which may vary depending on the final intended product of the vineyards concerned and on the residual transitional period during which the prohibition on new plantings as provided for in Article 90(1) and (2) applies.

2. Where planting rights granted from a reserve are used, Member States shall ensure that:

(a) the location, the varieties used and the cultivation techniques used guarantee that the subsequent production is adapted to market demand;

(b) the yields concerned are typical of the average in the region, in particular where planting rights originating in non-irrigated areas are used in irrigated areas.

3. Planting rights granted from a reserve which are not used before the end of the second wine year after the one in which they were granted shall be forfeited and re-allocated to the reserve.

4. Planting rights in a reserve which are not disbursed before the end of the fifth wine year following their allocation to the reserve shall be extinguished.

5. If regional reserves exist in a Member State, the Member State may lay down rules permitting the transfer of planting rights between regional reserves. If both regional and national reserves exist in a Member State, the Member State may also allow for transfers between those reserves.

Transfers may be subject to a reduction coefficient.

Article 95 De minimis

This Chapter shall not apply in Member States where the Community planting right regime did not apply by 31 December 2007.

Article 96 Stricter national rules

Member States may adopt stricter national rules in respect of the award of new planting rights or replanting rights. They may require that the respective applications and the relevant information to be supplied therein be supplemented by additional information necessary for monitoring the development of production potential.

Article 97 Implementing measures

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Chapter shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 113(1).

Those measures may in particular include:

(a)

provisions to avoid excessive administrative charges when applying the provisions of this Chapter;

(b)

the co-existence of vines pursuant to Article 92(2);

(c)

the application of the reduction coefficient referred to in Article 94(5).