European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development is due to adopt its position strengthening the measures proposed for the wine sector on Wednesday 5 November.
Rapporteur Esther Herranz García (EPP, Spanish) negotiated a series of compromise amendments with the other political groups (see EUROPE 13700/10).
In the event of force majeure or exceptional circumstances, winegrowers could extend the validity of vine planting authorisations up to twelve months after their initial expiry date, according to one of these compromise amendments.
New vineyards. Each year, Member States should, according to another compromise amendment, make available authorisations for new plantings corresponding either to 1% of the total area actually planted with vines on their territory, as measured on 31 July of the previous year, or to 1% of an area comprising the area actually planted with vines on their territory, as measured on 31 July 2015, as well as the area covered by planting rights granted to producers (available for conversion into authorisations on 1 January 2016).
Member States could apply a national percentage lower than that provided for or limit the issue of authorisations to 0%, at regional level, for specific areas eligible to produce wines with a protected designation of origin, areas eligible to produce wines with a protected geographical indication or areas without a geographical indication.
Safeguards. Under the compromise amendments, Member States must ensure that operators who have implemented grubbing-up measures in the previous year cannot apply for new authorisations in the same production zone for five years. Member States must also ensure that operators who have implemented crisis distillation or green harvesting measures cannot apply for new authorisations in the same production area for three consecutive years.
According to a compromise amendment, replanting authorisations should be granted for so-called ‘heroic’ vineyards, characterised by the exceptional difficulty of their cultivation due to environmental and structural factors. ‘Heroic’ vineyards are defined as those that meet at least one of the following criteria: plots planted on a slope that averages more than 30%, plots planted at an average altitude of more than 500 metres above sea level (excluding plateaux), plots planted on small islands with a total surface area of less than 250 km².
Financial assistance. EU financial aid for restructuring and converting vineyards could cover up to 80% of the actual costs related to the objective of contributing to climate change mitigation. Aid for permanent grubbing-up could cover up to 100% of eligible costs (but beneficiaries cannot benefit from the intervention for restructuring and converting vineyards for five years). Aid for information and promotional activities could cover up to 80% of eligible expenditure, and aid for preventing flavescence dorée and other highly contagious plant diseases could cover up to 100% of eligible costs. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)