Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 614/2014Show full title

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 614/2014

of 6 June 2014

amending Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 as regards the application of certain support measures in the wine sector

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007(1), and in particular points (a), (b), (c), (e) and (f) of Article 54 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 has repealed and replaced Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007(2) and contains, in Section 4 of Chapter II of Title I of Part II, rules on national support programmes in the wine sector. While most of the rules laid down in that Section ensure the continuation of the rules applicable to the national support programmes in the wine sector under Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, some new rules are also included. Those rules introduce new elements, namely a sub-measure of the measure of promotion, concerning promotion of wine in Member States, a measure of innovation in the wine sector as well as an extension of the measure on restructuring and conversion of vineyards to cover replanting of vineyards following mandatory grubbing-up for health or phytosanitary reasons. Rules for the implementation of those elements should be laid down.

(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 555/2008(3) lays down rules as regards national support programmes in the wine sector provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007. In order to implement the new rules laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, the appropriate provisions should be introduced in Regulation (EC) No 555/2008.

(3) Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 should allow Member States to modify their operational programmes and align them with the new elements introduced by Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013. For this purpose, Member States should be allowed to modify their operational programmes an additional time after 30 June 2014, taking into consideration the dates of adoption of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 612/2014(4) and of this Regulation.

(4) Rules should be laid down concerning the selection of information projects and regarding the preference to be granted, when selecting the projects on the internal market. The selection procedure for promotion of wines in the Member States should be coherent with the procedure for promotion of wines on third-country markets as laid down in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 555/2008, but it should also take into account the particular objectives and geographical scope of this sub-measure.

(5) Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 provides for the financial management of the investments measure. Those rules should also apply to the measure of innovation in the wine sector. In particular, to allow for a better use of the funds, it should be possible to pay the support after the execution of only certain of the operations foreseen in the application concerned while making sure that all the remaining operations will be completed. Moreover, it is appropriate to fix the maximum ceiling for advance payments similar to the one established for investments.

(6) Article 37b of Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 requests that the beneficiaries provide information related to the advances granted in accordance with certain provisions of that Regulation. This obligation should also apply to the measure of innovation introduced by Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.

(7) Annexes I to VIII, Annex VIIIa and VIIIc to Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 set out the forms to be filled in by the Member States concerning the national support programmes, in particular, for the purposes of the submission of the support programmes, their revision and the corresponding financial planning as well as for the submission of reports and evaluations. Those Annexes should be amended in order to reflect the introduction, in Section 4 of Chapter II of Title I of Part II of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, of new provisions concerning the content, evaluation, cost and control.

(8) Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 should be amended accordingly.

(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

(1)

OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671.

(2)

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) (OJ L 299, 16.11.2007, p. 1).

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 of 27 June 2008 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 on the common organisation of the market in wine as regards support programmes, trade with third countries, production potential and on controls in the wine sector (OJ L 170, 30.6.2008, p. 1).

(4)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 612/2014 of 11 March 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council by amending Commission Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 as regards new measures under the national support programmes in the wine sector (see page 62 of this Official Journal).