Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION establishing the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union with regard to certain resolutions to be voted in the framework of the International Organisation for Vine and Wine (OIV)
Date: 2012-04-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: international organisation, marketing standard, quality control of agricultural products, quality standard, vinification, wine

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 27.4.2012  
COM(2012) 192 final 

2012/0095 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

establishing the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union with regard to 
certain resolutions to be voted in the framework of the International Organisation for 
Vine and Wine (OIV) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  International  Organisation  of  Vine  and  Wine  (OIV)  is  an  intergovernmental 
scientific  and  technical  organisation  active  in  the  sector  of  vine,  wine,  wine-based 
drinks, table grapes, raisins and other vine products. The objectives of the OIV are (i) 
to inform via publications and organisation of events and symposiums, (ii) to assist 
other  international  organisations  involved  in  standardisation  activities  and  (iii)  to 
contribute  to  international  harmonisation  of  existing  practices  and  standards. 
Currently 44 States are members of the OIV, among which 20 are Member States of 
the Union. The EU is currently not a member of the OIV. 

At EU level, pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 
establishing  a  common  organisation  of  agricultural  markets  and  on  specific 
provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation, OJ L 299, p. 1), 
certain  resolutions  adopted  and  published  by  the  OIV  affect  EU  law.  The  Single 
CMO provides for dynamic references to:  

- the methods of analysis for determining the composition of the products of the wine 
sector  and  certain  purity  and  identification  specifications  of  substances  used  in 
oenological  practices  so  that  the  rules  adopted  and  published  by  the  OIV  become 
ipso facto binding on this matter within the EU (Article 120(g) of the Single CMO 
and Article 9 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 606/2009 of 10 July 2009 laying 
down certain detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 
as  regards  the  categories  of  grapevine  products,  oenological  practices  and  the 
applicable restrictions, OJ L 193 p. 1); 

-  oenological  practices  adopted  and  published  by  the  OIV  upon  which  the 
Commission  must  base  itself  when  it  authorises  such  practices  (Article  120(f)  of 
Single CMO); and  

-  the  same  oenological  practices  according  to  which  the  EU  must  accept  wines 
produced in third countries and which therefore become ipso facto binding in the EU 
(Article 158(a) of the Single CMO). 

On the basis of discussions held within the groups of experts meeting to prepare the 
General  Assembly  of  the  OIV,  it  can  be  expected  that  the  following  Resolutions, 
producing  legal  effect  within  the  EU  acquis,  will  be  on  the  agenda  of  the  General 
Assembly for adoption: 

-  The  draft  Resolutions  OENO-TECHNO  08-394A,  08-394B,  10-442,  10-443,  10-
450A,  10-450B,  11-483  and  11-484  establish  new  oenological  practices..  In 
accordance with Articles 120(f) and 158(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, these 
Resolutions will affect the acquis. 

-  The  draft  Resolutions  OENO-SCMA  08-385,  09-419B,  10-436,  10-437,  10-461, 
10-465  and  10-466,  establish  methods  of  analysis.  In  accordance  Article  120(g)  of 
Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, these resolutions will affect the acquis. 

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- The draft Resolutions OENO-SPECIF 08-363, 08-364, 09-412, 10-451, 10-452, 10-
459,  11-485,  11-486B,  11-489,  11-490,  11-491  and  11-494  establish  purity  and 
identification  specifications  of  substances  used  in  oenological  practices.  In 
accordance  with  Article  9  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  606/2009,  these  Resolutions  will 
affect the acquis. 

The above mentioned resolutions have been extensively discussed between scientific 
and  technical  experts  of  the  wine  sector.  They  contribute  to  the  international 
harmonisation of the wine standard and they will set a framework which will ensure 
fair  competition  in  the  trading  of  wine  sector  products.  They  should  therefore  be 
supported. 

As  in  the  past,  it  can  be  expected  that  the  agenda  of  the  meeting  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  OIV  will  still  evolve  and  that  further  Resolutions  affecting  the 
acquis will be added to the agenda. In order to ensure efficiency of the work of the 
General Assembly while respecting the rules of the Treaties, the Commission will in 
due  time  supplement  and/or  amend  the  present  proposal  to  enable  the  Council  to 
adopt the position to be taken also for these Resolutions. 

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2012/0095 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

establishing the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union with regard to 
certain resolutions to be voted in the framework of the International Organisation for 
Vine and Wine (OIV) 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 43, in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

The  International  Organisation  of  Vine  and  Wine  (OIV)  is  an  intergovernmental 
scientific  and  technical  organisation  active  in  the  sector  of  vine,  wine,  wine-based 
drinks, table grapes, raisins and other vine products. The objectives of the OIV are (i) 
to  inform  via  publications  and  organisation  of  events  and  symposiums,  (ii)  to  assist 
other  international  organisations  involved  in  standardisation  activities  and  (iii)  to 
contribute to international harmonisation of existing practices and standards. Currently 
44 States are members of the OIV, among which 20 are Member States of the Union. 
The EU is currently not a member of the OIV. 

At EU level, pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 
establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions 
for  certain  agricultural  products  (Single  CMO  Regulation,  OJ  L  299,  p.  1),  certain 
resolutions  adopted  and  published  by  the  OIV  affect  EU  law.  The  Single  CMO 
provides for dynamic references to:  

- the methods of analysis for determining the composition of the products of the wine 
sector  and  certain  purity  and  identification  specifications  of  substances  used  in 
oenological  practices  so  that  the  rules  adopted  and  published  by  the  OIV  become 
ipso facto binding on this matter within the EU (Article 120(g) of the Single CMO 
and Article 9 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 606/2009 of 10 July 2009 laying 
down certain detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 
as  regards  the  categories  of  grapevine  products,  oenological  practices  and  the 
applicable restrictions, OJ L 193 p. 1); 

-  oenological  practices  adopted  and  published  by  the  OIV  upon  which  the 
Commission  must  base  itself  when  it  authorises  such  practices  (Article  120(f)  of 
Single CMO); and  

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(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

-  the  same  oenological  practices  according  to  which  the  EU  must  accept  wines 
produced in third countries and which therefore become ipso facto binding in the EU 
(Article 158(a) of the Single CMO). 

The  next  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  OIV  will  take  place  on  22  June 
2012.  On  that  occasion,  the  General  Assembly  will  examine  and  possibly  adopt 
Resolutions which will produce the legal effects referred to. 

It is therefore necessary to adopt, before that meeting of the General Assembly of the 
OIV,  the  positions  that  the  Member  States  which  are  members  of  the  OIV,  acting 
jointly in the interest of the EU, should take in the General Assembly of the OIV with 
regard to these Resolutions. 

The  draft  Resolutions  OENO-TECHNO  08-394A,  08-394B,  10-442,  10-443,  10-
450A, 10-450B, 11-483 and 11-484 establish new oenological practices. In accordance 
with Articles 120(f) and 158(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, these Resolutions 
will affect the acquis. 

The  draft  Resolutions  OENO-SCMA  08-385,  09-419B,  10-436,  10-437,  10-461,  10-
465  and  10-466,  establish  methods  of  analysis.  In  accordance  Article  120(g)  of 
Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, these resolutions will affect the acquis. 

The  draft  Resolutions  OENO-SPECIF  08-363,  08-364,  09-412,  10-451,  10-452,  10-
459,  11-485,  11-486B,  11-489,  11-490,  11-491  and  11-494  establish  purity  and 
identification specifications of substances used in oenological practices. In accordance 
with  Article  9  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  606/2009,  these  Resolutions  will  affect  the 
acquis. 

The above mentioned resolutions have been extensively discussed between scientific 
and  technical  experts  of  the  wine  sector.  They  contribute  to  the  international 
harmonisation of the wine standard and they will set a framework which will ensure 
fair  competition  in  the  trading  of  wine  sector  products.  They  should  therefore  be 
supported. 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

The position of the Union at the General Assembly of the OIV in 2012 shall be in accordance 
with  the  Annex  to  this  Decision  and  shall  be  expressed  by  the  Member  States  which  are 
Members of the OIV, acting jointly in the interest of the Union. 

Article 2 

Where  the  position  referred  to  in  Article  1  is  likely  to  be  affected  by  new  scientific  or 
technical  information  presented  before  or  during  the  meetings  of  the  OIV  on  matters  which 
are not yet subject to a Union position, Member States which are Members of the OIV shall 
refrain  from  voting  in  the  OIV  General  Assembly.  The  voting  shall  be  postponed  until  the 
position of the Union is established on the basis of the new elements. 

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Article 3 

This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX 

The  Member  States  acting  jointly  in  the  interest  of  the  Union  shall  support  only,  and  subject  to  any 
future review on the basis of new developments, the following draft resolutions on methods of analysis 
for  determining  the  composition  of  the  products  of  the  wine  sector,  on  purity  and  identification 
specifications of substances used in oenological practices and on oenological practices: 

OENO-TECHNO 08-394A, dealcoholisation of wines 

OENO-TECHNO 08-394B, correction of the alcohol content in wines 

OENO-TECHNO 10-442, acidification by treatment with cation exchangers – must 

OENO-TECHNO 10-443, acidification by treatment with cation exchangers – wine 

OENO-TECHNO 10-450A, reduction of the sugar content in musts 

OENO-TECHNO 10-450B, reduction of the sugar content in musts through membrane coupling 

OENO-TECHNO 11-483, de-acidification using an electromembrane process - musts 

OENO-TECHNO 11-484, de-acidification using an electromembrane process - wines 

OENO-SPECIF 08-363, determination of pectinmethylesterase activity in enzyme preparations 

OENO-SPECIF 08-364, determination of polygalacturonase activity in enzyme preparations 

OENO-SPECIF  09-412,  determination  of  endo-arabinanase  α-1,5  activity  in  pectolytic  enzyme 
preparations 

OENO-SPECIF 10-451, addition to the monograph relating to the activity of ß-d- glucosidase (OENO 
5/2007) - codex 

OENO-SPECIF 10-452, monograph on yeast protein extracts (ype)  

OENO-SPECIF 10-459, monograph on inactivated yeasts  

OENO-SPECIF 11-485, revision of the monograph on enzymatic preparations (OIV-OENO 365-2009) 

OENO-SPECIF  11-486B,  revision  of  the  monograph  on  determination  of  cellulase  activity  (OIV-
OENO 8-2008) 

OENO-SPECIF  11-489,  revision  of  the  monograph  on  determination  of  glycosidase  activity  (OIV-
OENO 5-2007) 

OENO-SPECIF  11-490,  revision  of  the  monograph  on  determination  of  galactanase  activity  (OIV-
OENO 313-2009) 

OENO-SPECIF  11-491,  revision  of  the  monograph  on  determination  of  pectinlyase  activity  (OIV-
OENO 314-2009) 

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OENO-SPECIF 11-494, monograph on lactic bacteria - revision of the file  

OENO-SCMA  08-385,  determination  of  lysozyme  in  wine  using  high-performance  capillary 
electrophoresis  

OENO-SCMA 09-419B, specific methods for the analysis of grape sugar (rectified concentrated musts) 

OENO-SCMA 10-436, assay of pesticide residues in wine (by gc/ms or lc/ms-ms) following extraction 
using the quechers method 

OENO-SCMA 10-437, update of the method for determining the density of ethanol (method OIV-MA-
AS2-01A) 

OENO-SCMA 10-461, methods for the determination of natamycin in wine 

OENO-SCMA 10-465, supplement to the method for determining dry extract (OIV-oeno 387/2009) 

OENO-SCMA  10-466,  modification  of  the  method  of  evaluation  by  refractometry  of  the  sugar 
concentration in grapes, musts, concentrated grape musts and rectified concentrated grape musts (oeno 
21/2004) 

The Member States acting jointly in the interest of the Union may agree to minor changes to these draft 
resolutions without further decision of the Council. 

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