Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 202/2013 of 8 March 2013 amending Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 as regards the submission of support programmes in the wine sector and trade with third countries

9.3.2013 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 67/10
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 202/2013
of 8 March 2013
amending Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 as regards the submission of support programmes in the wine sector and trade with third countries
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard 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) (1), and in particular Article 103za, in conjunction with Article 4 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Article 103n(1a) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 foresees that, by 1 August 2013, Member States may decide to reduce, from 2015, the amount available for the support programmes referred to in Annex Xb in order to increase their national ceilings for directs payments referred to in Article 40 of Council Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 of 19 January 2009 establishing common rules for direct support schemes for farmers under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers (2). The amount resulting from the decrease is to remain definitively in the national ceilings for direct payments and no longer be available for the measures listed in Articles 103p to 103y of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007.
(2) Article 103o of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 foresees that Member States were to decide by 1 December 2012 whether to provide support to vine-growers for 2014 by allocating payment entitlements within the meaning of Chapter 1 of Title III of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009. In this case, Member States are to make provision for such support in their support programmes and this support for 2014 is to remain in the Single Payment Scheme and no longer be available for the measures in Articles 103p to 103y of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007. Commission Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 (3) should provide details on the communications to be made by the Member States concerned in relation to Article 103n(1a) and Article 103o of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007.
(3) In the light of the experience gained during the implementation of the support programmes and in order to prepare for the submission of draft support programmes for the financial years 2014 to 2018, the framework and specific requirements for the new programming period should be further completed.
(4) Point (d) of the first paragraph of Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 provides that the wines referred to in Article 103p(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 shall be eligible for promotion on third-country markets provided that the support for promotion and information lasts no longer than three years for a given beneficiary in a given third country, if necessary renewed once for a period no longer than two years. This provision has been applied for the first submission of the support programme and it is appropriate to provide a similar rule for the submission of the new support programme; however, it is important to stimulate the opening of new markets in third countries, including by giving preference to beneficiaries who did not receive support in the past, or to those targeting a new third country for which they have not received support in the past within this scheme.
(5) The third paragraph of Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 provides that, when selecting the beneficiaries, preference is to be given to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the meaning of Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC (4) and to collective brand names. The preference for collective brand names should be eliminated in order to simplify the implementation of this measure, while leaving the possibility to grant support for the promotion of brand names unaffected.
(6) Articles 6 and 8 of Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 establish rules concerning the definition, the procedure, applications and levels of support for restructuring and conversion of vineyards. Without prejudice to the conditions set out in Article 103q of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, in the light of the experience gained during the implementation of this measure, it is necessary to specify certain operations that are considered ineligible. Furthermore, the rules on the calculation of flat rate amounts should, on the one hand, be simplified and, on the other, be made more precise. In particular, in order to avoid overcompensation, it is appropriate to specify that flat rate amounts shall be based on an accurate calculation of the actual costs of each type of operation.
(7) Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 establishes transitional rules concerning restructuring operations already planned in application to Article 11 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine (5). Those rules are now outdated and that Article should therefore be deleted.
(8) Articles 26 to 34 establish rules for three measures which ended on 31 July 2012, potable alcohol distillation, crisis distillation and use of concentrated grape must. Those Articles should therefore be deleted.
(9) Articles 67 to 73 establish rules for the grubbing-up scheme which ended in 2011. Those Articles should therefore be deleted.
(10) Article 77(5) of Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 foresees that, for investment measures, Articles 26, 27 and 28 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1975/2006 (6) should apply mutatis mutandis. However, in the light of Article 19(1) and Articles 76 to 80 of Regulation (EC) No 555/2008, the reference to some of those rules, which are now set out in Commission Regulation (EU) No 65/2011 (7), should be deleted in order to improve clarity.
(11) Article 81(3) and (5) of Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 foresees rules on controls related to the production potential and to the operations of restructuring and conversion of vineyards, for areas receiving a grubbing-up premium in accordance with Articles 85o to 85x of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007. The grubbing-up scheme ended in 2011. Therefore, those rules should be deleted. However, Article 81(4) foresees an on-the-spot control or a remote sensing control in case of grubbing-up, if its resolution is equal to or higher than 1 m2 or the grubbing-up covers the entire vineyard parcel. Grubbing-up before replanting can also be an operation carried out in the framework of a restructuring and conversion measure and therefore it is appropriate to foresee the same rule for this measure.
(12) Commission Regulation (EC) No 883/2001 (8) provided the simplified VI-1 document for wine products, including grape juice originating in a list of countries, including the United States of America, and imported into the Union. Since the entry into force of the Agreement between the European Community and the United States of America on trade in wine (9), wine from the United States of America can be imported into the Union accompanied by a certification document as provided for in Article 9 of the Agreement. In consequence, in Regulation (EC) No 555/2008, which replaced Regulation (EC) No 883/2001, the United States of America were not included in the list of countries allowed to use the simplified VI-1 document. However, as grape juice is not covered by that Agreement, the United States of America should be added to that list for the benefit of wine products not covered by the scope of the Agreement.
(13) The Management Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets has not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by its Chair,