Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No . . ./1999 of . . . 1999 amending Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 on the common organisation of the market in wine (1999/C 59/09)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

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

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Whereas, to take account of the special conditions in which table wines are produced in Spain, temporary derogations should be laid down concerning blending of wines in that Member State;

Whereas, as a temporary derogation, the total acidity of table wines should be fixed at a lower level in certain wine growing zones;

Whereas, pending Council decisions on reform of the sector and in order to avoid any legal hiatus, certain provisions referred to in Article 39 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1627/98 (2), should be extended for a further wine year;

Whereas Article 46(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 provides that campaigns to promote the consumption of grape juice may only be conducted until the 1998/1999 wine year; whereas they should be continued for one wine year so that their effectiveness may be assessed;

Whereas Article 65(5) of Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 provides that, during the 1998/1999 wine year, the Commission is to submit to the Council a report on maximum sulphur dioxide levels in wine and any proposals arising therefrom; whereas the significance for the sector of the sulphur dioxide problem calls for proposals taking account in particular of the work of the International Vine and Wine Office (IWO); whereas that time limit should therefore be deferred by one wine year,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 is amended as follows:

1. In the third subparagraph of Article 16(5), 'between 1 September 1998 and 31 August 1999` is replaced by 'between 1 September 1999 and 31 August 2000`.

2. In Article 39:

- in the first and second subparagraphs of paragraph 10, '1998/1999` is replaced by '1999/2000`,

- in paragraph 11, '1998/1999` is replaced by '1999/2000`.

3. In Article 46(4), '1998/1999` is replaced by '1999/2000`.

4. In Article 65(5), '1 April 1999` is replaced by '1 April 2000` and '1 September 1999` is replaced by '1 September 2000`.

5. In Annex I, the third subparagraph of point 13 is replaced by the following:

'For the 1997/1998, 1998/1999 and 1999/2000 wine years, table wines produced in Greece, France, Italy, Portugal and in the Spanish parts of winegrowing zones C other than the regions of Asturias, Baleares, Cantabria, Galicia, and the provinces of Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya, and released for consumption respectively on the market in Greece, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain may have a total acidity content of not less than 3,5 g/l, expressed as tartaric acid`.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

It shall apply from 1 September 1999.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at . . .

For the Council

The President

. . .

(1) OJ L 84, 27.3.1987, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 210, 28.7.1998, p. 8.