Commission Regulation (EC) No 1607/2000 of 24 July 2000 laying down detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine, in particular the Title relating to quality wine produced in specified regions

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1607/2000
of 24 July 2000
laying down detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine, in particular the Title relating to quality wine produced in specified regions
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine(1), and in particular Articles 56 and 58 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) General rules for quality wine produced in specified regions (psr) are laid down in Title VI of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, and in several of the annexes thereto. These rules should be supplemented with implementing rules and the Regulations which previously dealt with that matter, Commission Regulations (EEC) No 1698/70(2), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 986/89(3), (EEC) No 2236/73(4), (EEC) No 2082/74(5), as last amended by the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Hellenic Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties(6) and (EEC) No 2903/79(7), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 418/86(8), should be repealed.
(2) These rules were previously dispersed throughout a number of Community Regulations. It would be in the interests of economic operators in the Community and of the authorities responsible for applying Community rules to collate all these provisions in a single Regulation.
(3) That Regulation should include the current rules adapted to the new requirements of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999. It should also be simpler and more consistent, and provide complete coverage of the subject, which means that certain gaps must be filled in. In addition, some rules should be more specifically worded, to ensure greater legal certainty when they are applied.
(4) It should be specified that this Regulation applies without prejudice to any special provisions laid down in other areas.
(5) Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 provides for a number of lists of quality wines psr. Those lists must be established.
(6) Paragraph 3 of Annex VI of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 requires the producer Member States to carry out systematic organoleptic tests for each quality wine psr produced on their territory.
(7) The task of comparing the results of tests with the specifications prescribed and of carrying out organoleptic tests should be entrusted to inspection boards.
(8) There should be provision regarding the use to be made of wines suitable for yielding quality wines psr that are not accepted as quality wines psr by the board concerned.
(9) The Commission should be informed of the measures taken by the Member States and of the manner in which they are applied.
(10) Pursuant to Article 56(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, a quality wine psr may be downgraded at the marketing stage in certain circumstances only. These circumstances should be specified and the use to which quality wines psr so downgraded may be put should be stated, as should the conditions for those uses. The competent authorities having the right to downgrade wines should be indicated.
(11) To avoid distorting competition, a downgraded quality wine psr must not be marketed under a designation similar to the designation which can no longer be allocated to it. For monitoring to operate smoothly, entries in stock movement registers must record the downgrading.
(12) For the Commission to be able to monitor the application by the competent authorities in the Member States of the provisions governing the downgrading of quality wines psr, the Member States should notify the Commission each year of the quantities of quality wine psr downgraded on their territory.
(13) The downgrading of a quality wine psr on the territory of a Member State other than that in which it originated should be carried out by a competent body of the Member State of origin. To that end, direct cooperation should be ensured between the bodies responsible in the Member States for the supervision of the production and marketing of quality wines psr and rules for such cooperation should be laid down. However, in order to simplify the administrative task of the Member States, it should be possible for the competent body of the Member State which has on its territory a small quantity of the quality wine psr in question to downgrade this quantity itself.
(14) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Wine,