Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No . . .

of . . .

amending Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 on the common organization of the market in wine

(96/C 125/22)

96/0073(CNS)

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 all new planting of vines is prohibited until 31 August 1996; whereas, however, in view of the situation on the wine sector market, the existing ban should be extended by one wine year pending Council decisions on reforming the sector;

Whereas, to take account of the special conditions in which table wines are produced in Spain, temporary derogations concerning blending and the total acidity of certain table wines produced in that Member State should be laid down; whereas the derogation concerning total acidity should also be extended to table wines produced in Portugal;

Whereas Article 17 (3) of Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1544/95 (2), provides that one particular form of deacidification is permitted on a transitional basis only; whereas so that a final decision can be taken regarding that technique, current practice should be continued until the end of the 1996/97 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 1995/96 wine year; whereas they should be continued for one wine year so that their effectiveness may be assessed;

Whereas Articles 39 (12) and 65 (5) of Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 provide that, during the 1995/96 wine year, the Commission is to submit to the Council reports on the effects of the structural measures and their link with compulsory distillation, and on maximum sulphur dioxide levels in wine and any proposals arising therefrom; whereas the reports on wine-growing zones and on the effects of the structural measures and their link with compulsory distillation are no longer necessary because of new policies in the sector; whereas the Commission has just submitted its report on enrichment; whereas, therefore, those reports no longer need to be referred to;

Whereas the significance for the sector of the sulphur dioxide problem calls for proposals taking account of all data available, in particular the work of the International Vine and Wine Office (I. W. O.); whereas that time limit must therefore be deferred by one wine year,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

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

1. In Article 6 (1), '31 August 1996` is replaced by '31 August 1997`.

2. In the third subparagraph of Article 16 (5), 'between 1 January and 31 August 1996` is replaced by 'between 1 January 1996 and 31 August 1997`.

3. In Article 17 (3), '31 August 1996` is replaced by '31 August 1997`.

4. In Article 18 (3), the second subparagraph is deleted.

5. In Article 39:

(a) in the third subparagraph of paragraph 3, 'until the end of the 1995/96 wine year` is replaced by 'until the end of the 1996/97 wine year`;

(b) in the fourth subparagraph of paragraph 3, 'from the 1996/97 wine year onwards` is replaced by 'from the 1997/98 wine year onwards`;

(c) in paragraph 10, '1995/96` is replaced by '1996/97`;

(d) in paragraph 11, '1995/96` is replaced by '1996/97`;

(e) paragraph 12 is deleted.

6. In Article 46 (4), '1995/96` is replaced by '1996/97`.

7. In Article 65:

(a) in paragraph 2, the following indent is added at the end of letter (b):

'- white quality wines psr originating in the United Kingdom described and presented in accordance with British legislation by the term "botrytis", or other equivalent terms, such as "noble harvest", "noble late harvested" or "special late harvested"`;

(b) in paragraph 5, '1 April 1996` is replaced by '1 April 1997` and '1 September 1996` is replaced by '1 September 1997`.

8. In Annex I, point 13, the last subparagraph is replaced by:

'For the 1996/97 wine year, table wine produced in Portugal and in the Spanish areas of winegrowing zone C other than the Regions of Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria and Galicia and the provinces of Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya, and released to the Portuguese market and to the Spanish market respectively, may have a total acidity content expressed as tartaric acid, of not less than 3,5 g/l.`

Article 2

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

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

Done at . . .

For the Council

. . .

(1) OJ No L 84, 27. 3. 1987, p. 1.

(2) OJ No L 148, 30. 6. 1995, p. 31.