Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2018:96
Date: 2018-02-22
Language of the case: French
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Wine
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling;Reference for a preliminary ruling - decision unnecessary
Origin: France

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber), 7 August 2018 Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Support for restructuring and conversion in the wine sector — Controls in the wine sector — Unannounced on-the-spot checks — Powers of control officials — No power to enter agricultural land without having obtained the vine grower’s permission (Commission Regulation No 555/2008, Recitals 72 and 73, Arts 76, 78, 81 and 83(a)) Articles 76, 78 and 81 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 of 27 June 2008 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 on the common organisation of the market in wine as regards support programmes, trade with third countries, production potential and on controls in the wine sector, must be interpreted as not authorising officials carrying out an on-the-spot check to enter agricultural land without having obtained the vine grower’s permission. In that regard, recitals 72 and 73 of the regulation state that it is for the Member States to ensure the effectiveness of the work of the bodies responsible for wine-sector controls, taking the necessary steps to ensure that the staff of those bodies has adequate powers of investigation to guarantee compliance with EU wine-sector rules. In addition, as observed by the Advocate General in point 43 of his Opinion, Article 83(a) of that regulation, concerning the powers of control officials, provides that each Member State must ensure that its officials have access to vineyards and other places and installations necessary for them to carry out their duties, without, however, requiring that it be possible to gain such access without the vine grower’s permission. It follows that Regulation No 555/2008 gives the Member States responsibility for regulating, under their national law, the powers granted to control officials as well as the greater part of the rules governing the checks to be carried out, including those relating to access to the places to be subjected to checks. Consequently, Regulation No 555/2008 does not grant authorisation to enter a vine grower’s land without his permission. (see paras 25-27, 33, operative part)