Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2566 of 13 October 2022 amending and correcting Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/273 as regards the scheme of authorisations for vine plantings
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2566of 13 October 2022amending and correcting Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/273 as regards the scheme of authorisations for vine plantingsTHE 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 1234/2007OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671., and in particular Article 69 thereof,Whereas:(1)Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/273Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/273 of 11 December 2017 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the scheme of authorisations for vine plantings, the vineyard register, accompanying documents and certification, the inward and outward register, compulsory declarations, notifications and publication of notified information, and supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the relevant checks and penalties, amending Commission Regulations (EC) No 555/2008, (EC) No 606/2009 and (EC) No 607/2009 and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 436/2009 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/560 (OJ L 58, 28.2.2018, p. 1). lays down rules supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 concerning, in particular, the scheme of authorisations for vine plantings, the vineyard register, accompanying documents and certification, the inward and outward register, compulsory declarations, notifications and publication of notified information.(2)The scheme of authorisations for vine plantings provided for in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 has been amended by Regulation (EU) 2021/2117 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilRegulation (EU) 2021/2117 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products, (EU) No 1151/2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs, (EU) No 251/2014 on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of aromatised wine products and (EU) No 228/2013 laying down specific measures for agriculture in the outermost regions of the Union (OJ L 435, 6.12.2021, p. 262). and those amendments need to be reflected in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/273.(3)The exemption from the obligation to obtain a vine planting authorisation is extended to include the planting or replanting of areas intended for setting-up collections of vine varieties intended to preserve genetic resources. That exemption needs to be added to the provisions concerning areas for experimental purposes or for graft nurseries. To avoid any abuse of that exemption, it is appropriate to set the conditions that such collections of vine varieties must meet. Moreover, the definitions of "winegrower" and "vineyard parcel" laid down in Article 2 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/273 as well as in Annex IV thereto need to be updated to reflect that exemption. For greater clarity, a new definition of the term "collection of vine varieties" should also be added to that Article.(4)As provided for in Article 63(3), point (b), of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Member States may limit the issuing of planting authorisations at regional level for specific areas eligible for the production of wines with a protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication to avoid a well-demonstrated risk of devaluation of a particular protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication. That provision should be reflected in the rules on replanting restrictions laid down in Article 6 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/273.(5)An applicant’s commitments to comply with the eligibility criteria referred to in Article 64(1), point (c), of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and Article 4(1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/273, and that his application does not pose a significant risk of misappropriation of the reputation of specific protected geographical indications, are to end on 31 December 2030. That time limit, which corresponds to the end of the system of vine planting authorisations, should be adapted due to the prolongation of the vine planting authorisations scheme introduced in Article 61 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 by Regulation (EU) 2021/2117. For that same reason, the end dates for certain commitments concerning the eligibility criteria in Annexes I and II to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/273 should also be adapted.(6)The priority criteria referred to in Article 64(2), points (f) and (h), of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 have been amended and clarified, respectively, and these changes should also be reflected in the corresponding parts of Annex II to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/273.(7)Furthermore, the term "winegrower" as defined in Article 2(1), point (a), of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/273 designates the professional winegrower. However, it is also erroneously used in Article 3(3) of that Delegated Regulation to refer to the natural person producing wine from an area not larger than 0,1 ha for household consumption only that is exempt from the planting authorisation scheme. This contradiction should be rectified.(8)Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/273 should therefore be amended and corrected accordingly,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: