Commission Regulation (EC) No 644/2001 of 30 March 2001 opening public sales of wine alcohol for use as bioethanol in the European Community
Date: 2001-03-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Italy, Spain, distillation, intervention agency, motor spirit, viticulture

31.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 91/37

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 644/2001

of 30 March 2001

opening public sales of wine alcohol for use as bioethanol in the European Community

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(5)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

The Management Committee for Wines has not deliv-
ered an opinion within the time limit
set by its
chairman,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17
May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in
wine (1), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 2826/2000 (2),

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000
of 25 July 2000 laying down detailed rules for implementing
Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation
of the market in wine with regard to market mechanisms (3), as
last amended by Regulation (EC) No 545/2001 (4), and in
particular Article 92 thereof,

Whereas:

Article 1

Two lots of alcohol (references 1/2001 EC and 2/2001 EC)
each comprising 50 000 hectolitres at 100 % vol. are hereby
put up for public sale for use in the fuel sector within the
Community. The alcohol has been obtained from distillation as
provided for in Articles 35, 36 and 39 of Regulation (EEC) No
822/87 and is held by the Spanish and Italian intervention
agencies.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000 lays down inter alia, the
detailed rules for disposing of stocks of alcohol obtained
from distillation under Articles 27, 28 and 30 of Regula-
tion (EC) No 1493/1999 and held by the intervention
agencies.

Public sales of wine alcohol for use in the fuel sector in
the Community should be organised with a view to
reducing Community stocks of wine alcohol and to
some extent ensuring supplies to firms approved under
Article 92 of Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000.
Community stocks of wine alcohol held by the Member
States come from distillation under Articles 35, 36 and
39 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 of 16 March
1987 on the common organisation of the market in
wine (5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1677/
1999 (6).

In accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 2799/98
of 15 December 1998 establishing
agrimonetary
arrangements for the euro (7), price offers and securities
must be expressed, and payments made,

in euro.

Given that there are risks of fraud by substitution of
alcohol, it would appear necessary to reinforce checks
on the final destination of the alcohol, allowing the
intervention agencies to call on the help of international
control agencies and to check the alcohol sold by means
of nuclear magnetic resonance analyses.

(1) OJ L 179, 14.7.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 328, 23.12.2000, p. 2.
(3) OJ L 194, 31.7.2000, p. 45.
(4) OJ L 81, 21.3.2001, p. 21.
(5) OJ L 84, 27.3.1987, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 199, 30.7.1999, p. 8.
(7) OJ L 349, 24.12.1998, p. 1.

Article 2

The location and references of the vats making up the lots, the
quantity of alcohol in each vat, the alcoholic strength and the
characteristics of the alcohol are as set out in the Annex hereto.
The lots shall be awarded to the two firms approved under
Article 92 of Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000.

Article 3

All communications concerning this public sale shall be sent to
the following Commission department:

European Commission
Directorate-General for Agriculture
Unit E-2
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200, B-1049 Brussels,
Fax (32-2) 295 92 52, telex 22037 AGREC B, 22070 AGREC
B (Greek),
E-mail address: agri-e2@cec.eu.int

Article 4

The public sales shall take place in accordance with Articles 92
to 96, 98, 100 and 101 of Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000 and
Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 2799/98.

Article 5

The price of the alcohol for public sale shall be EUR 22,97 per
hectolitre of alcohol at 100 % vol.

L 91/38

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

31.3.2001

Article 6

Article 8

The performance security shall be EUR 30 per hectolitre of
alcohol at 100 % vol. Unless a standing guarantee is provided,
before removing any alcohol and by the day of issue of the
removal order at the latest, the firms awarded the lots shall
lodge a performance security with the intervention agency
concerned to ensure that the alcohol in question is used as
bioethanol

in the fuel sector.

Article 7

Against payment of EUR 10 per litre and within 30 days of
the publication of the notice of public sale, the firms approved
under Article 92 of Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000 may obtain
samples of the alcohol put up for sale from the intervention
agency concerned. After that date, samples may be obtained in
accordance with Article 98(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No
1623/2000. Samples
shall
amount to not more than five litres per vat.

issued to the approved firms

The intervention agencies in the Member States in which the
alcohol put up for sale is stored shall carry out appropriate
checks to verify the nature of the alcohol at the time of end
use. To that end, they may:

— apply, mutatis mutandis, the provisions of Article 102 of

Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000,

— carry out checks on samples using nuclear magnetic reso-
nance to verify the nature of the alcohol at the time of
end-use.

The costs shall be borne by the companies to which the
alcohol

is sold.

Article 9

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publica-
tion 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 Brussels, 30 March 2001.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

31.3.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 91/39

PUBLIC SALES OF WINE ALCOHOL FOR USE AS BIOETHANOL IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

Nos 1/2001 EC and 2/2001 EC

ANNEX

Firms approved
under
Article 92
of Regulation
(EC) No 1623/2000

Ecocarburantes
Españoles SA

Sekab (Svensk
Etanolkemi AB)

I. Place of storage, quantity and characteristics of the alcohol put up for sale

Member State and
Lot No

Location

Vat
Nos

Quantity
(hectolitres of
alcohol at
100 % vol.)

Article of
Regulation
(EEC)
No 822/87

Type
of alcohol

SPAIN

Tarancón

5

50 000,00

35 and 36

Raw

Lot No 1/2001 EC

Total

50 000,00

ITALY

Bonollo
Anagni-Paduni (FR)

Lot No 2/2001 EC Bonollo Umberto

Mestrino (PD)
Mestrino (PD)

Caviro
Faenza (RA)

Cipriani
Chizzola d'Ala (TN)

Di Lorenzo
Pontevalleceppi (PG)

ICV
Borgoricco (PD)

Carlino
Novoli (LE)

Esposito
Pomigliano d'Arco (NA)

De Luca
Novoli (LE)

MVA
Manfredonia (FG)
Manfredonia (FG)

24 150,50

194,32
125,68

882,44

2 121,18

1 261,74

552,40

1 102,61

2 672,84

8 000,34

8 837,75
98,20

39

39
35

35

35

36

35

35

36

35

35
36

Raw

Raw
Raw

Potable
alcohol

Neutral

Neutral

Potable
alcohol

Potable
alcohol

Potable
alcohol

Potable
alcohol

Neutral
Neutral

Total

50 000,00

II. The address of the Spanish intervention agency is:

FEGA, Beneficencia 8, E-28004 Madrid (Tel. (34) 913 47 65 00; telex: 23427 FEGA; fax (34) 915 21 98 32).

The address of the Italian intervention agency is:

AGEA, via Palestro 81, I-00185 Roma (Tel. (39-06) 494 99 91; telex: 62 00 64/62 06 17/62 03 31; fax (39-06)
445 39 40/445 46 93).