The EU Council of Ministers adopted without debate, on Monday 20 July, a decision approving a delegated act allowing additional aid to wine and fruit and vegetable producers in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic (see EUROPE 12522/7).
The European Commission had notified this delegated act on 6 July 2020. On 13 July 2020, the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) confirmed the results of the silent procedure initiated on 6 July, whereby delegations considered that the EU Council had no reason to object to the delegated act.
The text provides for a temporary derogation from EU competition rules: Article 222 of the Common Market Organisation (CMO) Regulation allows the Commission to adopt temporary derogations from certain EU competition rules in cases of serious market imbalances. Operators in the wine sector will thus be able to take measures for the self-organisation of the market for a maximum period of 6 months.
For example, they will be allowed to jointly plan production and promotion activities and to organise private storage. The EU contribution to all measures in the national support programmes will increase by 10% to 70%.
The Commission will authorise Member States to pay advances to operators for ongoing distillation (for industrial purposes only) and storage operations in times of crisis. These advances can cover up to 100% of the costs and will allow Member States to make full use of the funds received under the national aid programmes for this year.
The fruit and vegetable sector will also benefit from an increase in the EU contribution (from 50 to 70%) for programmes run by producer organisations. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)