TITLE IISUPPORT MEASURES
CHAPTER ISupport programmes
Section 3Specific support measures
Article 18Crisis distillation
1
Support may be granted until 31 July 2012 for voluntary or obligatory distillation of surplus wine decided upon by Member States in justified cases of crisis so as to reduce or eliminate the surplus and at the same time ensure supply continuity from one harvest to the next.
2
The maximum applicable aid levels shall be fixed in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 113(1).
3
The alcohol resulting from the supported distillation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be used exclusively for industrial or energy purposes so as to avoid distortion of competition.
4
The share of the available budget used for the crisis distillation measure shall not exceed the following percentage shares as calculated against the globally available funds laid down in Annex II per Member State in the respective budget year:
20 % in 2009,
15 % in 2010,
10 % in 2011,
5 % in 2012.
5
Member States may increase the available funds for the crisis distillation measure beyond the annual ceilings given in paragraph 4 by way of contributing national funds in accordance with the following limits (expressed in terms of percentage of the respective annual ceiling given in paragraph 4):
5 % in the wine year 2010,
10 % in the wine year 2011,
15 % in the wine year 2012.
Member States shall, where applicable, notify the Commission of the addition of national funds referred to in the first subparagraph and the Commission shall approve the transaction before such funds are made available.