Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 823/87 laying down special provisions relating to quality wines produced in specified regions'
Date: 1998-04-29
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU law, bottling, product quality, quality control of industrial products, wine of superior quality

10.7.98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 214/71

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council Regulation
(EC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 823/87 laying down special provisions relating to
quality wines produced in specified regions’

(98/C 214/18)

On 3 March 1998 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee,
under Articles 43 and 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the
above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Agriculture and Fisheries, which was responsible for preparing the Committee’s
work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 2 April 1998. The rapporteur was Mr Espuny
Moyano.

At its 354th plenary session (meeting of 29 April 1998), the Economic and Social Committee
adopted the following opinion with 111 votes in favour and seven abstentions.

1.

Introduction

1.1.
The proposal seeks to allow Member States to
make bottling in the specified region of production
compulsory for certain quality wines psr, provided that
the following objective conditions are met:

— bottling within the region of production gives the
wine special characteristics or is an important factor
in preserving the special characteristics acquired;

— the overwhelming majority of operators in the sector

support such a step.

1.1.1.
The proposal to add this obligation to the
requirements governing designation of origin is justified
by the legal nature of the industrial and commercial
property rights governing such designations, with a view
to protecting the quality and reputation of the wine and
the guarantee of its origin and ensuring stricter checks
on authenticity.

1.2.
Under the proposal, Member States which decide
to require that certain quality wines psr be bottled in
the region of production must allow these wines to
continue to be bottled outside the designated regions,
for a transitional period of five years, by operators who
have been bottling them outside these regions for at
least three years prior to the entry into force of the
regulation. Member States may only introduce the
obligation after they have sent the Commission detailed

Brussels, 29 April 1998.

information demonstrating that they fulfil the required
conditions.

2. General comments

2.1.
The Committee welcomes the Commission pro-
posal. The regulation will give EU legislative force to
certain rules and practices which have traditionally
always been followed in all producer Member States, as
regards the obligation to bottle certain quality wines psr
in the region of origin in order to protect their quality,
defining characteristics, reputation and authenticity.

3. Specific comments

3.1.
The Committee is also pleased that the Com-
mission proposal prevents Member States from obliging
operators to bottle a quality wine psr in the region of
production against their will, as expressed by their
recognized sectoral organizations.

3.2. However, the Committee considers that in the
two indents of the second paragraph of Article 1(1), the
words ‘joint-trade organization’ should be replaced by
‘joint-trade or sectoral organization’. This is necessary
in order to respect the subsidiarity principle, as the
nature — and the names — of the sectoral organizations
involved in wine designations differ greatly in the various
Member States.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Tom JENKINS