COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL On reaching an agreement conferring special status on the European Union within the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV)
Date: 2016-11-25
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: external competence (EU), the EU's international role, vineyard, viticulture, wine, world organisation

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   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 25.11.2016  COM(2016) 735 final/2   Corrigendum : The French cover page is replaced by an English cover page. Concerns only the EN version. COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL On reaching an agreement conferring special status on the European Union within the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV)  
 
 
1. 

Introduction 

The  International  Organisation  for  Vine  and  Wine  (OIV)  is  an  intergovernmental  scientific 
and technical organisation active in the sector of vines, wine, wine-based drinks, table grapes, 
raisins and other vine products. It was set up by an international agreement signed on 3 April 
2001 in Paris and is the successor to the International Vine and Wine Office, set up in 1924 by 
an international arrangement on 29 November 1924. 

As  of  1  January  2016,  the  OIV  had  45  member  countries,  including  the  main  producer-
countries, with the exception of USA, Canada and China. 19 EU Member States are members 
of  the  OIV:  Belgium,  Bulgaria,  Germany,  France,  Greece,  Italy,  Luxembourg,  Malta,  the 
Netherlands,  Austria,  Portugal,  Romania,  Sweden,  Slovakia,  Slovenia,  Spain,  the  Czech 
Republic, Hungary and Cyprus. The OIV has financial resources of almost EUR 2.5 million a 
year, which come mainly from the subscriptions of members and observers. 

The OIV’s objectives are specified in its founding agreement: 

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to  inform  its  members  of  measures  whereby  the  concerns  of  producers,  consumers 
and  other  players  in  the  vine  and  wine  products  sector  may  be  taken  into 
consideration; 

to  assist  other  international  organisations,  both  intergovernmental  and  non-
governmental, especially those which carry out standardisation activities; 

to contribute to international harmonisation of existing practices and standards and, 
as  necessary,  to  the  preparation  of  new  international  standards  in  order  to  improve 
the  conditions  for  producing  and  marketing  vine  and  wine  products,  and  to  help 
ensure that the interests of consumers are taken into account. 

In order to achieve these objectives, the OIV carries out numerous activities related to vines 
and vine products, in particular promotional, informational, and standardisation activities. 

As  part  of  its  contribution  to  the  international  harmonisation  of  existing  practices  and 
standards, the OIV draws up - among other things - recommendations (called ‘resolutions’) in 
the following areas: 

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conditions for grape production; 

oenological practices; 

the definition and/or the description of products, labelling, and marketing conditions; 

methods for the analysis and assessment of vine products. 

The OIV’s work in setting standards is based on the work of scientific experts from Member 
States. In particular, it takes the form of publications that are periodically updated on the basis 
of resolutions adopted by the organisation. To date, the OIV has published several standards 
codes: the International Oenological Codex, the International Code of Oenological Practices, 
the Compendium of International Methods of Analysis of Wine and Musts, the Compendium 
of  international  methods  of  analysis  of  spirituous  beverages,  the  International  Standard  for 
labelling wines and spirits of vitivinicultural origin, the OIV standard for international wine 
and  spirituous  beverages  of  vitivinicultural  origin  competitions,  the  OIV  descriptor  list  for 
grape varieties andVitis, species, the description of world vine varieties, and the International 
list of vine varieties and their synonyms. It has also produced several resolutions and  works 
on different subjects connected to the world of wine. 

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A  detailed  presentation  of  the  structure  and  procedural  rules  of  the  OIV  is  available  on  the 
organisation’s website at: www.oiv.org. 

2. 

EU powers in the areas covered by the OIV 

At EU-level, the OIV’s main standards codes (International Oenological Codex, International 
Code  of  Oenological  Practices,  the  Compendium  of  International  Methods  of  Analysis  of 
Wine and Musts, the International Standard for labelling wines and spirits of vitivinicultural 
origin, and the Compendium of international methods of analysis of spirituous beverages) fall 
under  the  remit  of  the  common  agricultural  policy  or  the  harmonisation  of  laws  for  the 
establishment and functioning of the internal market. 

EU legislation in the areas covered by the OIV includes in particular: 

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Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  2870/2000  of  19  December  2000  laying  down 
Community  reference  methods  for  the  analysis  of  spirit  drinks  (OJ  L  333, 
29.12.2000, p. 20). 

Council  Directive  2001/112/EC  of  20  December  2001  relating  to  fruit  juices  and 
certain  similar  products  intended  for  human  consumption  (OJ  L  10,  12.1.2002,  p. 
58), 

Regulation  (EC)  No 110/2008  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of 
15 January  2008  on  the  definition,  description,  presentation,  labelling  and  the 
protection  of  geographical  indications  of  spirit  drinks  and  repealing  Council 
Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89 (OJ L 39, 13.2.2008, p. 16), 

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, 24.7.2009, p. 1), 

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  607/2009  of  14  July  2009  laying  down  certain 
detailed  rules  for  the  implementation  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  479/2008  as 
regards  protected  designations  of  origin  and  geographical  indications,  traditional 
terms,  labelling  and  presentation  of  certain  wine  sector  products  (OJ  L  193, 
24.7.2009, p. 60). 

Commission  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  No  543/2011  of  7  June  2011  laying 
down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 in 
respect of the fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables sectors (OJ L 
157, 15.6.2011, p. 1). 

Regulation  (EU)  No  1169/2011  of  the  European  Parliament  of  the  Council  of  25 
October  2011  on  the  provision  of  food  information  to  consumers,  amending 
Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament 
and  of  the  Council,  and  repealing  Commission  Directive  87/250/EEC,  Council 
Directive 90/496/EEC, Commission Directive 1999/10/EC, Directive 2000/13/EC of 
the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Directives 2002/67/EC and 
2008/5/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004, (OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, 
p. 18). 

Commission  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  No  203/2012  of  8  March  2012 
amending  Regulation  (EC)  No  889/2008  laying  down  detailed  rules  for  the 

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implementation  of Council  Regulation (EC)  No 834/2007,  as  regards  detailed rules 
on organic wine (OJ L 71, 9.3.2012, p. 42), 

Regulation (EC) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 
December  2013  establishing  a  common  organisation  of  the  markets  in  agricultural 
products  and  repealing  Council  Regulations  (EEC)  No 922/72,  (EEC)  No 234/79, 
(EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671). 

Regulation (EU) No 251/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 
February  2014  on  the  definition,  description,  presentation,  labelling  and  the 
protection  of  geographical  indications  of  aromatised  wine  products  and  repealing 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91 (OJ L 84, 20.3.2014, p. 14). 

Even  though  the  OIV’s  resolutions  are  not  in  themselves  binding  at  EU-level  under 
Regulation  (EU)  No  1308/2013,  some  of  the  resolutions  adopted  and  published  by the  OIV 
have an impact on EU legislation. The CMO Regulation provides for references to the OIV 
resolutions in the following provisions: 

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certain  methods  of  analysis  for  determining  the  composition  of  the  products  of  the 
wine  sector  adopted  and  published  by  the  OIV  upon  which  the  Commission  must 
base itself unless they would be ineffective or inappropriate in view of the objective 
pursued by the Union (Article 80(5) of the CMO Regulation), 

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 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), 

oenological practices adopted and published by the OIV that the Commission must 
take  into  account  when  it  authorises  such  practices  (Article  80(3)(a)  of  the  CMO 
Regulation), and 

the same oenological practices where used, prior to their authorisation according to 
Article 80(3) of the CMO Regulation, for the production of wines imported into the 
EU (Article 90(2) of the CMO Regulation). 

Similarly,  under  Regulation  (EC)  No 2870/2000,  some  of  the  resolutions  adopted  and 
published  by  the  OIV  have  an  impact  on  EU  legislation.  Article 3  of  Regulation  (EC) 
2870/2000 provides for reference to OIV resolutions where Community analytical reference 
methods are not  laid  down for the  detection and quantification  of substances contained in  a 
particular spirit drink. 

Consequently, to the extent that OIV resolutions may affect the acquis or alter its scope, and 
where  it  is  made  necessary  by  the  exercise  of  its  internal  competence,  the  EU  -  under 
Article 3(2) of the TFEU - has exclusive competence in the area. For this reason, before these 
resolutions are voted on in the OIV, the Council must take, under Article 218(9) of the TFEU, 
a common position on behalf of the EU. 

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3. 

EU Participation 

3.1.  Current situation 

The EU currently has no official status in the OIV. On a totally informal basis, Commission 
representatives  have  usually  been  invited  to  attend  and  take  part  in  expert  groups,  sub-
committees and committees. They are also sometimes asked to attend (without being able to 
intervene  in)  the  General  Assembly,  where  resolutions  are  adopted  by  the  OIV’s  members. 
They do not participate in the work of the Executive Committee and pay no contribution to 
the OIV. 

This  ad  hoc  and  limited  participation  does  not  allow  the  Commission  to  be  fully  informed 
about the development of new resolutions. 

3.2.  The need for EU participation 

Given  the  impact  of  the  OIV’s  work  on  the  EU  acquis  and  EU  competences  in  the  areas 
covered  by  the  OIV,  it  is  necessary  for  the  EU’s  role  in  the  OIV  to  be  strengthened  and 
formalised. 

Under  Article 8  of  the  Final  Act  establishing  the  OIV,  an  international  intergovernmental 
organisation can take part in the work of the OIV or become a member of it. 

From a legal perspective, the EU’s membership in the OIV would be the natural consequence 
of the EU acquis and the EU’s competences in the areas covered by the OIV. However, when 
the question of EU membership of the OIV was discussed in the Council in 2009, the majority 
of Member States were opposed. 

The OIV’s Rules of Procedure, adopted by its General Assembly, provides for a special status 
for  the  participation  of  international  intergovernmental  organisations.  Thus,  Article  4  of  the 
OIV’s Rules of Procedure sets out: 

‘An  international  intergovernmental  organisation  may  request  that  it  be  granted  a 
special status enabling it to: 

a) intervene in the work of the committees, sub-committees and expert groups; 

b) attend the meetings of the General Assembly and the Executive Committee. 

Following  a  proposal  of  the  Executive  Committee  and  the  agreement  of  the  General 
Assembly,  a  special  agreement  shall  be  entered  into  between  the  OIV  and  the 
organisation  in  question.  The  special  agreement  shall  define,  in  each  particular  case, 
the  specific  conditions  of  collaboration,  including  the  amount  of  its  annual  financial 
contribution. 

In the event of non-payment of three successive financial contributions, the Director-
General  of  the  OIV  shall  notify  the  international  intergovernmental  organisation  in 
question  of  the  situation.  If  the  situation  is  not  regularised  during  the  two  years 
following  31 December  of  the  third  year  of  non-payment,  the 
international 
intergovernmental  organisation  in  question  shall  be  automatically  excluded  from  the 
organisation.’ 

While reserving the position on the possibility of proposing to the Council that the EU begin 
negotiations  to  become  a  full  member  of  the  OIV,  the  Commission  considers  that  it  is 
necessary for the EU to ask the OIV to grant it special status. 

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This status would allow the Commission, as representative of the Union under Article 17 of 
the TEU, to be fully informed of the development of new resolutions, to be able to coordinate 
the EU’s common position with respect to these resolutions, and to attend and take part in - on 
behalf of the Union and on a formal basis - the work of the committees, sub-committees and 
expert  groups,  and  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  General  Assembly  and  the  Executive 
Committee. This would ensure a single EU representation within the OIV without calling into 
question the role within the OIV of scientific experts from EU Member States. 

Moreover,  the  granting  of  this  status  would  also  allow  EU  representatives  to  get  access  - 
under  the  same  conditions  as  OIV  members  -  to  all  the  documents  enabling  the  EU  to 
formulate  its  positions  under  optimum  conditions.  Thus,  the  special  status  proposed  would 
facilitate the preparation of decisions that the Council will have to take under Article 218(9) 
of the TFEU. 

The effects of granting this status will be limited to the specific conditions laid down in the 
special  arrangement  that  accompanies  the  draft  exchange  of  letters  attached  to  this 
communication. It will have no legal effect beyond these specific conditions. 

3.3.  Procedure for obtaining the EU’s special status within the OIV 

An informal information note from the Commission giving notice of the start of discussions 
with the OIV was sent to the Council and to the Parliament on 25 April 2012.  

On 26 May 2015, the Commission then sent the Council and the Parliament a draft exchange 
of  letters,  along  with  a  special  arrangement  connected  to  the  EU’s  special  status  within  the 
OIV and in line with the special agreement under Article 4 of the OIV’s Rules of Procedure, 
and  additional  explanations  about  the  special  status  on  1  July  20151.  In  the  Council’s  draft 
conclusions of 21 September 2015, the Council approved the Commission’s initiative to begin 
discussions with the OIV, and asked the Commission to submit the amended draft exchange 
of letters after the discussions2. 

The draft EU letter and the related special arrangement were sent to the OIV on 14 October 
2015 and a draft OIV letter was sent to the Commission on 27 January 2016. The final version 
of the draft exchange of letters, accompanied by the special arrangement, is attached to this 
communication.  The  signing  of  this  exchange  of  letters  will  give  the  EU  a  special  status 
within the OIV. 

4. 

Conclusion 

In light of the above, the Commission will propose to the OIV that the EU be accorded the 
special  status  provided  for  in  Article  4  of  the  OIV’s  Rules  of  Procedure.  The  exchange  of 
letters  between  the  OIV  and  the  EU,  along  with  the  special  arrangement  setting  out  the 
specific conditions for working together, will be signed by the Commission representing the 
EU in the context of this procedure. The Commissioner responsible for agriculture and rural 
development will have the power to sign the exchange of letters on behalf of the Commission 
and under its responsibility.  

In  light  of  Article 16  of  the  TEU,  the  Commission  invites  the  Council  to  approve  these 
conclusions and support it in their implementation. 

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Council documents 9226/15 and 10432/15 
Council document 11788/1/15 REV 1. 

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