ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(77)174
Vol.1977/0072

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(77)174final.
Brussels ,10May 1977 *
Proposalfora
COUNCILREGULATION (EEC)
amendingRegulation(EEC)No816/70layingdownadditional
provisionsforthecommonorganization ofthemarketinwine
(submittedtotheCounciltoytheCommission)
/
CGM(77)174final.
t

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Under theoverall agreement arrived at "bytheCouncil meeting on2to
6March 1976 *"thebasic regulation onthecommon organization ofthemarket in
wine (l)wassubstantially amended byRegulation (EEC)NOH6O/76(2),inparti­
cular asregards theprice andintervention system .
Management ofthemarket under thenewprovisions from 1September 1976
hasshown that some oftherevised measures donotalways permit action tobe
taken with thespeed andflexibility which isneeded toremedy market difficul­
ties atthe outset ofthemarketing year .Asthis was that theCouncil was
trying toachieve ,some technical adjustments seem necessary .Moreover ,doubts
anddifficulties regarding thelegal interpretation ofsome ofthewording need
toberemoved byclearer drafting .
This proposal concerns thefollowing technical adjustments :
!•Fixing the "weighted average price "(Artiole 4(l))
Thecompromise solution arrived atin1976 hasthedisadvantage that it
takes into consideration only thelowest prices representing atleast 50i°
ofthequantities quoted ,sothat this "average "therefore does notaccura­
tely reflect theprice situation .Moreover ,thenewprovisions applied to
ascertain production prices inFrance since September 1976 have ledtoa
considerable increase inthequantities quoted inFrance sothat insome
weeks the quantilaes quoted inItaly forredwine oftype RIcorrespond to
less than 10$ofthetotal amount quoted intheCommunity .Inorder to
obtain amore accurate representation ofthemarket bythe "weighted avera­
geprice "itisproposed forthethree principal types oftable wine ,
firstly touseallthequantities quoted and ,secondly ,toarrive atthis
figure byusing theaverage prices weighted byMember State (inthis case
Franoe andItaly )which arethen weighted inrelation toeach other accor­
ding tothetable wine production ofeach Member State .
-/•
(1)OJNoL99t5.5.1970 ,p.1,Regulation (EEO)No816/70
(2)OJNoL135,24.5.1976 ,p.1,Regulation (EEC)NoII60/7O
andOJNoL326,25.11 .1976 ,p.1,Regulation (EEC)No2829/76

2.Storageaidforgrapemust(Article5(&))
Numerousdiscussions havetakenplaceduringrecentmonthsonthedesirar-
bilityofpermittingstoragecontractsto"beconcludedforgrapemust.
Finally,thiswasnotdecideduponforthiswineyear.
Infuture,toavoidambiguityitisproposedthattherighttoconclude
suchcontractsshouldbelinkedeitherwithpreventivedistillation for
short-termcontractsatthebeginningofthewineyearortotherightto
concludelong>-termcontractsforwinesforcontractsofthesametype.
3.Preventivedistillation (Artide6(b))
Ithasbeenfound,duringthepresentwineyear,thattheoverallcrite­
rionof10millionhectolitres oftablewineunderstoragecontractshasnot
beenmetwhereasthecrisisinthewhitewinemarketwassuchastocallfor
theintroduction ofdistillationforthistypeofwine.Finally,preventive
distillation couldnotbebegununtil26December1976whichiscontrary
tothespiritofthismeasure.Itisthereforeproposedtoreducefrom10
to7millionhectolitrestheoverallquantitiesrequiredtobeunderstorar-
gecontractandtoprovideforapplyingthemechanismseparatelyforred
wineandwhitewine.
4*Reportondevelopmentsinplanting(Article17)
Thediscrepancy betweentheintenteddevelopment andtheactualdevelop­
mentofvineyards(l)meansthatonemustuselatestfiguresasshownby
theviticultural landregisterwhendrawingupthisreport.
TheCommissionstaffareatpresentpreparingareformoftheviticultural
landregisterfor1978whichshouldinparticularprovideforarapiduseof
itslatestfigures.
.Fromnowontheaimshouldbetousethesefiguresforthereportreferred
toabove. ,
./•
(l)SeetheCommission'sReporttotheCounoilontheforeseeabledevelopments
intheplantingandreplantingofvineyardsintheCommunityandonthe
ratiobetweenproductionandutilizationinthewinesector(Doc.COM(77)
22finalof15February1977»P«2andp.11)

5.Conditions foracidification (Articles 20and22)
After discussion onthis subject inorder tosolve certain technical pro­
blems which have arisen asregards acidification inwine–growing zones CII
and CIII jinparticular inItaly ,itisproposed that inyears when there
have "been unusual weather conditions the acidification oftable wines be
permitted for aperiod extending farbeyond thelimits laid down inArticle
22.Tomeet these technical requirements itisproposed that theacidificar -
tion oftable wines bepermitted throughout theyear under conditions tobe
defined .
6»Improvement ofthewording ofaprovision relating tothe additional rate
of"obligatory distillation "(Article 24a(2 ))
Reminder .
7•Administrative simplification oftherules for importing certain products
(Article 28(la )
Indiscussion oftheamendment toRegulation (EEC)No1848/76laying down
general rules fortheimport ofwines ,grape juice andgrape must (l)the
question arose ofexempting from thecertificate andanalysis report cer­
tain liqueur wines which already hadacertificate ofdesignation oforigin .
Alegal basis wasneeded inthebasic wine regulation toprevent this over­
lap ;aproposal tothat effect ismade here .
These amendments inpraotice have nodirect financial consequen­
cesontheCommunity budget *
(l)OJNoL204,30.7.1976 ,p.5*amended byRegulation (EEC)No531/77»
14.3.1977 ,OJNoL69,16.3.1977 ,P»4

Proposai for
COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC)NO
of
amending Regulation (EEC)NO816/70laying down additional
provisions for the oommon organization ofthemarket in
wine
THECOUNCIL OPTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard totheTreaty establishing theEuropean Eoonomio Com ,-unity and
inparticular Article 43thereof ,
Having regard totheproposal from theCommission ,
Having regard totheOpinion oftheEuropean Parliament ,
Having regard totheOpinion oftheEconomic andSocial Committee ,
Whereas experience shows that certain amendments should bemade toRegulation
(EEC)No8I6/7Oof28April 1970 laying down additional provisions forthecom­
monorganization ofthemarket inwine (1),aslast amended byRegulation (EEC)
No528/77(2);
Whereas itappears that theweighted average prices asfixed pursuant toArti­
cle4ofRegulation (EEC)No8I6/7Odonotaccurately reflect thesituation
ofwine prices intheCommunity ,thereby upsetting thearrangements for
putting intervention measures into operation ;whereas ,therefore ,the
weighting should nolonger belimited tothelowest average prices andthe
volume ofproduction ineach oftheMember States
-/-
(1)OJNoL99,5.5.1970 ,p.1
(2)OJNoL69,16.3.1977 »P.1

concerned should betaken into account forthetable wines produced in
thegreatest quantity intheCommunity ,namely types RI,RIIandAI;
Whereas under Article 6"bpreventive distillation maynot "beintroduced
until there areatleast 10million hectolitres under storage contracts
atthe "beginning ofthewine year ;whereas ,toensure that this measure
hasthedesired effect ,thesaid condition should herelaxed both by
making aconsiderable reduction intheamount of10million hectolitres and
also byproviding forthepreventive distillation ofredwine alone or
white wine alone ifaspecific level isreached for oneorother ofthese
categories ofwine j
Whereas itappears that thepresent system forthestorage ofgrape must
does not enable intervention measures forthese products tobeput into
operation attheproper time ;whereas ,moreover ,theintervention measures
provided forshould notbeallowed tobediverted from their purpose ;
whereas ,therefore ,provision should bemade ,where large stocks exist and
when storage contracts areopened fortable wine ,fortheintervention
measures tobeautomatically activated initially byshort-term contracts ,
later tobereplaced bylong-term contracts forgrape must orconcentrated
grape must ifpreventive distillation hasstarted ;
Whereas each year theCommission isrequired tosubmit areport tothe
Council which ,inparticular ,records theratio between production and
ulitization andestimates foreseeable changes inthat ratio onthebasis
oftheforecasts ;whereas provision should bemade forthis report tobe
based also onthelatest figures oftheviticultural land register pro­
vided forbyRegulation 26/64(EEC)(3),aslast amended byRegulation (EEC)
No1456/76(4)i
(3)OJNo48,19.3.1964 ,P.753/64
(4)OJNoL163 ,24.5.1976 ,p.13

Whereas ,intheevent ofunusual weather conditions ,acidification
should bepermitted inwine-growing zones CIaand CI"bsubject to
thesame conditions andlimits asinZones CIIandCIII ;whereas ,
moreover ,inyears ofexceptional climatic conditions itappears
necessary tobeable toauthorize this practice fortable wines inzones
CIIand CIIIthroughout theyear butonly within thewine–growing zone
concerned j
Whereas ,intheinterests ofclarity ,Article 24aofRegulation (EEC)
No816/70should beamended tospecify that theadditional rate of
obligatory distillation maybevaried forallwines andproduction regions ;
Whereas forcertain imported wines twocertificates giving thesame information
arerequired byCommunity rules ;whereas this duplication should be
prevented byspecifying that thecertificate andanalysis report shall be
required asamatter ofcourse inthese cases ,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION s
Article 1
Article 4(0ofRegulation (EEC)No816/70ishereby amended toread
asfollows :
"Foreach type ofwine forwhich aguide price isfixed ,theCommission
shall ,onthebasis ofallthefacts available toit,fixeach week and
publish inthe WCHseries oftheOfficial Journal oftheEuropean Communities t
(a)anaverage producer price (hereinafter call the"average price ")for
each representative market fortherelevant type oftable wine ;

("b)fortablewinesoftypesAII,AIIIandRIII,aweightedaverage
Communitypricecalculated ,foreachofthesetypesoftablewine,"by
takingtheaverageoftheaveragepricesandweightingit"bythe
quantitiesquotedontherepresentative marketsfortherelevanttype
oftablewine(hereinaftercalledthe"weightedaverageprice");
(c)fortablewinesoftypesRI,RIIandAIs
–aweightedaveragepriceforeachMemberStateconcernedcalculated
bytaking,foreachofthesetypesoftablewine,theaverageofthe
averagepricesandweightingitbythequantitiesquotedonthe
representative marketsfortherelevanttypeoftablewineinthe
MemberStateconcerned ;
–aweightedaverageCommunitypricecalculated ,foreachtypeoftable
wine,bytakingtheaverageofthepricesreferredtointhefirst
indentandweightingitbytheproductionofeachMemberState
concerned
(i)ofredandros£tablewinefortablewineoftypesRIandRII,
(ii)ofwhitetablewinefortablewineoftypeAI,
(hereinaftercalledthe"weightedaverageprice".)"
Article2
Article5ofRegulation(EEC)No816/70isherebyamendedtoreadas
followst
"1.Asystemofaidisherebyinstitutedforprivatestorageoftablewine.
Aidshallbegrantedsubjecttotheconclusionwithintervention agencies,
ontermsandconditionstobedetermined ,ofoneofthefollowingtypes
ofstoragecontract:
–contractsvalidforaperiodofthreemonths(hereinaftercalled
"short–termcontracts"),
–contractsvalidforaperiodofninemonths,concludedbetween16Decem­
berand15Februaryofthefollowingyear(hereinaftercalled"long-term
contracts").
./•

.5.
2.Short-term contracts
–maybeentered into when theweighted average price ofatype oftable
wine remains below theactivating price fortwoconsecutive weeks j
–maynotbeentered into when aweighted average price forthis type of
wine isabove theactivating price for twoconsecutive weeks .
Ifthe state ofthemarket sorequires ,adecision maybetaken toallow
short-term contracts tobeconcluded also inrespect oftable wines other
than those ofthetype forwhich they maybeconcluded inaccordance
with thefirst subparagraph ,where such table wines areclosely related
economically tothat type oftable wine .Such contracts maynolonger be
entered into inrespect ofthese wines when they arenotpermissible in
respect ofthetype oftable wine towhich they areclosely related
economically .
3.Without prejudice toparagraph 2,short –term contracts maybeentered
into inrespect ofagiven wine-growing zone orpart thereof when ,
especially because ofanexceptionally abundant harvest ,animbalance
appears atthebeginning ofthewine year insuch zone orpart thereof
between thequantities available and thequantities that canbesold .
4*Long-term contracts maybeentered into inrespect ofcertain types of
table wine tobespecified ,iftheestimates forawine year show that
thequantity ofsuch wines available atthebeginning ofthat year
exceeds foreseeable requirements forthat yeat bymore than four months
consumption .
Forthepurpose ofcalculating thequantity available referred tointhe
preceding subparagraph ,thequantitative effects ofthedistillation of
wines produced from table grapes referred toinArticle 24bandofthe
distillation decided upon beforehand under 24&shall bededucted .
-/

6.
5»During thetime when long-term contracts may "beentered into in
accordance with paragraph 4,theapplication ofparagraph 2or3
shall besuspended inrespect ofthe same type oftable wine .This
suspension shall also apply towines that areclosely related econ­
omically tothetable wine concerned .
6.Permission toenter into storage contracts asprovided forinthe
second subparagraph ofparagraph 2and inparagraphs 3and4shall be
decided upon inaccordance with theprocedure laid down inArticle ^
ofRegulation No24.
The same procedure shall befollowed :
(a)fordeciding ,ifjustified bythemarket situation andin
particular bytherate ofconclusion ofstorage contracts ,that
long-term contracts maynolonger beentered into even before
15February ;
(b)foradopting other detailed rules fortheapplication ofthis
Article ,andinparticular thetime limit forthedecisions tobe
taken inaccordance with thesecond subparagraph ofparagraph 2.
7*TheCommission shall decide whether storage contracts mayormaynot
beentered into under thefirst subparagraph ofparagraph 2andwhether
they maynolonger beentered into under thesecond subparagraph of
paragraph 2.M
Article 3
Thefollowing Article 5AIShereby added toRegulation (EEC)NO8I6/7O:
"Article *5a
1.Asystem ofaid ishereby instituted fortheprivate storage ofgrape
must andconcentrated grape must .
Private storage aidshall begranted subject totheconclusion with the
intervention agencies ,onterms andconditions tobedetermined ,ofone
ofthefollowing types ofstorage contract :
./•

7.
-contracts valid foraperiod ofthree months (hereinafter called
"short-term contracts ")*
-contracts valid foraperiod ofnine months (hereinafter called
"long-term contracts ").-
2.Short-term contracts mayautomatically "beentered into between 1September
and15December ifpreventive distillation has "been decided upon under
Article 6b.
Long-term contracts maybeentered intobetween 16December and28February
ofthefollowing year when adecision hasbeen taken toconclude private
long-term storage contracts for table wine .
3.Detailed rules ontheimplementation ofthis Article shall beadopted in
accordance with theprocedure provided forinArticle 7ofRegulation No24."
Article 4
Article 6b(l )ofRegulation (EEC)No816/70ishereby amended toread
asfollows :
"Where ,during theperiod from 1September to15December ,thequantity
under storage contract :
(a)oftable wines ofalltypes isatleast seven million hectolitres ,
(b)ofredtable wine isatleast five million hectolitres ,
(c)ofwhite table wine isatleast twomillion heotolitres ,
preventive distillation maybedecided upon :
–forallwines ifthecondition under (a)ismet ;
–forredwines ifthecondition under (b)ismet ;
–forwhite wines ifthecondition ,under (c)ismet ,
except inthe case of
–wines produced from table grapes j
/•

8
–wines produced from varieties ofvines obtained from interspecific
crossings (direct producer hybrids )falling into thecategory of
provisionally authorized varieties ;
–wines suitable forproducing certain potable spirits obtained from
wine with aregistered designation oforigin .
Inyears inwhich theharvest ofwine suitable forproducing certain
potable spirits obtained from wine with aregistered designation of
origin exceeds byonemillion hectolitres thevolume ofwine ofthe
previous year intended for that purpose ,itmaybedecided that the
wines inquestion maybedistilled .
_ ;However ,theprice paid forsuch wines shall bethat
laid down byinArtiole 24a(3 )forthewine year inquestion ."
Article 5
Thefirst subparagraph ofArticle 17(4 )ofRegulation (EEC)No816/7O
ishereby amended toread asfollows :
Each year ,before 31December ,theCommission shall submit areport to
theCouncil which ,inparticular ,records theratio between production
andutilization andestimates foreseeable changes inthat ratio onthe
basis ,inparticular ,oftheforecasts provided for inparagraph 3and
thelatest figures oftheviticultural land register provided for in
Regulation 26/64/EEC.n
Article 6
Article 20(2 )ofRegulation (EEC)No816/70ishereby amended toread
asfollows :
Inyears when climatic conditions have been exceptional :
–acidification oftheproducts mentioned inparagraph 1maybeauthori­
zedinwine-growing zones CIaandCIbinthe same circumstances as
inzones CIIandCIII ,

–-theupperlimitof1.50g/l»or20milliequivalents perlitre,referred
toinparagraph 1,mayberaisedto2.50g/l,or34milliequivalents per
litre,inzonesCIIandCIIIprovidedthatthenaturalacidityofthe
productisnotlessthan3g/lexpressedintartaricacid,or40millie­
quivalentsperlitre,
–inthesamecircumstances andwithinthesamelimitsasthosereferred
tointheaboveindents,acidification oftablewinesofzonesCII
andCIIImayheauthorizedwithintheirproduction zone".
Article7
ThesecondsubparagraphofArticle22(2)ofRegulation(EEC)No816/7O
isherebyamendedtoreadasfollows:
"Howeverconcentration bycoolingandtheacidification referredtointhe
lastindentofArticle20(2)maybepractisedthroughouttheyear.The
sameappliestoacidification inzonesCIIandCIIIprovideditiscarried
outwithineachofthetwowine-growing productionzones."
Article8
Article24aofRegulation(EEC)No816/70isherebyamendedtoreadas
follows:
1.Thethirdsubparagraph ofparagraph 1shallread:
"Adecisionmaybetakentoadjusttheadditionalrateaccordingtoarea
onthebasisofoneormoreofthefollowingcriteria:
–theyieldperhectare,
–thevinevariety,
–thecolourorthetypeofthewine,
–thealcoholicstrength «w
2.Thelastsubparagraph ofparagraph2shallbedeleted.

10.
Article9
Article28(la)("b)ofRegulation (EEC)No816/70isherebyamendedto
readasfollows:
"(b)fordispensingwith,thecertificateandtheanalysisreportprovided
forinparagraph1(a)inthecaseofcertainproductsreferredtoin
paragraph 1whicharetransportedinlimitedquantitiesandpackedin
smallcontainersandinthecaseofcertainwinesaccompanied "bya
certificateofdesignationoforigin."
Article10
ThisRegulationshallenterintoforceon1September1977*
ThisRegulationshallbebindinginitsentiretyanddirectlyapplicable
inallMemberStates.
DoneatBrussels.
FortheCouncil,
thePresident