Council Directive 79/359/EEC of 26 March 1979 on the programme to speed up the conversion of certain areas under vines in the Charentes departments

Council Directive
of 26 March 1979
on the programme to speed up the conversion of certain areas under vines in the Charentes departments
(79/359/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission [1],
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament [2],
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee [3],
Whereas under Article 39 (2) (a) of the Treaty, in working out the common agricultural policy account should be taken of the social structure of agriculture and the structural and natural disparities between the various agricultural regions;
Whereas, to attain the objectives of the common agricultural policy set out in Article 39 (1) (a) and (b) of the Treaty, special provisions adapted to the situation of the least-favoured agricultural areas should be taken at Community level;
Whereas the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime are in an unfavourable situation from the point of view of agricultural incomes and employment both in agriculture and outside it; whereas, therefore, action should be taken with regard to the structure and development of wine-growing in that region to have a permanent effect on incomes and agricultural employment;
Whereas, therefore, the wine-growing potential of the Charentes departments should be brought into line with market requirements by encouraging the conversion of the areas under vines whose suitability for wine-growing has not been confirmed and which could be used for other crops; whereas producers should receive special financial aid to encourage them to convert these areas under vines;
Whereas, in view of the above, the measures envisaged constitute a common measure within the meaning of Article 6 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agricultural policy [4] as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2788/72 [5];
Whereas it is for the Commission to approve, after receiving an opinion from the Standing Committee on Agricultural Structures, a programme presented by the French Republic,