CELEX: 51996PC0368
Language: en
Date: 1996-07-22
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 2046/89 laying down general rules for distillation operations involving wine and the by- products of winemaking

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                              Brussels, 22.07.1996
                                              COM(96)368 final
                               Proposal for a
                     COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)
     amending Regulation (EEC) No 2046/89 laying down general rules
for distillation operations involving wine and the by-products of winemaking
                      (presented by the Commission)
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                              EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
The purpose of this Regulation is to:
1.  make permanent the provision whereby associations of winegrowers' cooperatives can be
    treated as producers for the purposes of distillation covered by Article 1 of Regulation
    (EEC) No 2046/89. Experience since 1990 has shown that this can simplify administrative
    procedures without reducing the effectiveness of the distillation measures. Under the
    provisions in force the Council has always renewed the provision for each wine year as part
    of the prices package;
2.  enable distillers to cover themselves in part against the risk of recovery following
    retrospective verification of their aid applications. Under Article 22 of Regulation (EEC)
    No 2046/89 aid unduly paid can be recovered only from the distiller. Checks sometimes
    reveal errors or imprécisions on the part of vintagers or vinifiers. To prevent the entire
    burden being borne by the distiller in such cases it should be possible for the security,
    normally given by the distiller, to be lodged with assistance from the producer or vinifier
    who delivered the raw material to be distilled, provided that he has received the minimum
    price for his delivery;
3.  authorise distillers under certain conditions to receive the differentiated prices. Member
    States can choose between applying the standard price and the differentiated prices for
    payment for alcohol delivered to intervention under Article 35(6) of Regulation (EEC)
    No 822/87. Some however automatically apply the standard price although the possibility
    exists of applying in some regions prices for the alcohol delivered to the intervention
    agency that are differentiated according to the raw material used.
    To eliminate any discrimination between distillers in the same production region of a
    Member State it should therefore be specified that where the standard price is selected for
    administrative or accounting reasons the intervention agency is to apply the differentiated
    prices in line with the by-product volumes distilled in the case of distillers who exceed a
    certain percentage of one of the by-products distilled.
                                             *
 ---pagebreak---                                              Proposal for a
                                     Council Regulation (EC) No
                                                of
                                                   r
                 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2046/89 laying down general rules
           for distillation operations involving wine and the by-products of winemaking
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 of 16 March 1987 on the common
organization of the market in wine1, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1544/952, and in
particular Articles 35(7), 36(5), 38(4), 39(8), 41(8) and 42(4) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission3,
Whereas under Article 2(3) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2046/894, as last amended by
Regulation (EEC) No 1546/955, Member States may treat associations of winegrowers"
cooperatives as producers for the purposes of compulsory distillation; whereas paragraph 4 of the
said Article requires the Commission to submit a report on this matter; whereas in the light of
the report this possibility should be made permanent;
Whereas for operational effectiveness Member States should no longer be able to choose to apply
the standard prices only but distillers should be allowed subject to certain conditions to benefit
from variations in the alcohol selling price according to raw material distilled;
Whereas retrospective checks on aid applications from distillers sometimes bring to light errors
or imprécisions on the part of the harvesters of the grapes or producers of the wine; whereas the
liabilities arising therefrom should therefore be assumed by these; whereas to this end it should
be possible for the security to be financed in part by the wine producer,
            OJNoL84, 27.3.1987, p. 1.
            OJNoL 148, 30.6.1995, p.31.
            OJ No C
            OJNo L 202, 14.7.1989, p.14.
            OJNo L 148, 30.6.1995, p.34.
 ---pagebreak---  HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
                                               Article 1
 Regulation (EEC) No 2046/89 is hereby amended as follows:
 1.  Article 2(4) is deleted.
 2.  The following subparagraph is added after the first subparagraph of Article 4(2):
      "Contracts shall contain a clause whereby the producer assumes liability to the distiller for
     errors and omissions in the information he has transmitted to him that fall within his
     responsibility."
 3.  The following sentence is added to the first subparagraph of Article 8(1):
     "The security may be partlyfinancedby the producer."
4.   The last subparagraph of Article 18(3) is replaced by:
     "Member States
           may decide to apply differentiated prices if application of the standard price would or
           could make it impossible in certain regions to have one or more winemaking by-
           products distilled
           must in all cases grant them to distillers who in the course of a wine year have distilled
           one or other raw material to a percentage exceeding 60% of their total distillation."
                                              Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official
Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply from 1 September 1996.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at                                                               For. the Council
 ---pagebreak---                                            HEPQRT
Subject: Treatment of associations of winegrowers' cooperatives as producers for the purposes
          of distillation operations
1.  Council Regulation (EEC) No 2046/89 sets general rules for distillation of wine and by-
    products of winemaking. It provides that for a limited period Member States could authorise
    these associations to replace their member cooperatives for the purposes of conclusion of
    contracts, delivery of wine to distillers and exercise and discharge of each cooperative's
    rights and obligations under Community rules.
    The purpose was to facilitate handling of the conclusion of contracts and actual delivery of
    wine for the distillation specified.
    Under Article 2(4) of that Regulation the Commission submits the report in question with
    the national provisions adopted by certain Member States and a proposal to make the option
    a permanent one.
2.  Italy is the only Member State that has taken up the option. She has informed us that only
   two associations of cooperatives have been granted the status in question. These associations
    sent the following quantities of table wine for Community distillation:
    Compulsory distillation 1992/93:                 723 233 hi
                          "   1993/94              1 341 922 hi
   Preventive distillation 1994/95                   659 214 hi
                         "    1995/96                137 220 hi
   These represented the following proportions of total volume distilled:
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                        ('000 hi)
 Country:                       Article 381                                Article 391
   Italy
Marketing         Total volume                "AWGC"        Total volume                 "AWGC"
   year              distilled           distillation as %     distilled           distillation as %
                                         of total volume                            of total volume
                 EC           Italy       EC         Italy  EC          Italy      EC          Italy
1992/1993      16 464        7 046          -          -   8 492       4 702       8.5          15.4
1993/1994       9 667        4 415          -          -   6 854       5 598       19.6        22.5
1994/1995       5 658        3 304        11.5        19.9   -            -          -           -
1995/1996       1 898         8002        7.2         17.1   -            -          -           -
Recognition of associations as producers has been granted each year by the authorities on the
basis of Ministerial Decree No 451 of 15 June 1989 (see Annex).
This has enabled Italy to concentrate supply from different cooperatives and at the same time
reduce the administrative documentation needed to manage the Community measures and has
enabled the associations to adjust supply more effectively to market requirements by targeting
towards one or other distillation wine that at a given moment presented major disposal
difficulties compared with other types of table wine available.
The Commission, given the positive experience described above for the Community and for
Italy, suggests to the Council that the provision be made permanent.
         Reg. (EEC) No 822/87.
         Volume of wine for preventive distillation on basis of contracts subscribed.
                                                     C
 ---pagebreak---        FINANCIAL STATEMENT                                                               DATE: 20.6.96
1.     BUDGET HEADING:                                                                   APPROPRIATIONS:
       Bl - 1611 and 1612                                                                ECU 312 m and 68 m
       TITLE:
       Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 2046/89 laying down general rules for distillation
       operations involving wine and the by-products of winemaking
       LEGAL BASIS: Regulation (EEC) No 2046/89
       AIMS OF PROJECT:
       (a) Make permanent the provision whereby associations of winegrowers' cooperatives can be treated as producers for
       the purposes of distillation measures
       (b) Allow the security given by the distiller to be financed in part by the producer or vinifier
       (c) Make it possible for intervention agencies to apply prices differentiated according to the by-products distilled.
       FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS                                     PERIOD OF               CURRENT             FOLLOWING
                                                                 12 MONTHS               FINANCIAL             FINANCIAL
                                                                                          YEAR (96)             YEAR (97)
                                                                  million ecu             million ecu           million ecu
5.0.   EXPENDITURE
       - CHARGED TO THE EC BUDGET
         (REFUNDS/INTERVENTION)
       - NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
       -OTHER
5.1.   REVENUE
       - OWN RESOURCES OF THE EC
         (LEVIES/CUSTOMS DUTIES)
       - NATIONAL
                                                                   1998             1999              2000             2001
5.0.1. ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE
5.1.1. ESTIMATED REVENUE
5.2.   METHOD OF CALCULATION:
6.0.   CAN THE PROJECT BE FINANCED FROM APPROPRIATIONS ENTERED IN THE RELEVANT
       CHAPTER OF THE CURRENT BUDGET?                                                                               YES
6.1.   CAN THE PROJECT BE FINANCED BY TRANSFER BETWEEN CHAPTERS OF THE CURRENT
       BUDGET?                                                                                                      YES
6.2.   IS A SUPPLEMENTARY BUDGET NECESSARY?                                                                         NO
6.3.   WILL FUTURE BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS BE NECESSARY?                                                               NO
OBSERVATIONS:        No financial implications
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                                                   ISSN 0254-1475
                                                           COM(96) 368 final
                                             DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                            03
                                    Catalogue number : CB-CO-96-369-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-78-07226-5
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