Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1763 of 6 October 2021 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/600 as regards the derogations from Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1150 to address the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic 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 Article 54, points (a), (b) and (e), thereof,

Whereas:

• (1) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/600 ² introduced a number of derogations from existing rules, inter alia, from Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1150 ³ in the wine sector, aimed at providing relief to operators to help them cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite the usefulness of those measures, the wine market has not managed to regain its balance between supply and demand.

• (2) The COVID-19 pandemic is not under control. Vaccination campaigns in some regions of the Union and across the world are insufficient and movement restrictions and social distancing measure are still applied in most countries. Those measures continue to include restrictions related to travel, size of social gatherings, private parties, public events and to the possibility to eat and drink outside the home. Those restrictions result in a further decrease in the consumption of wine in the Union, larger stocks and more generally in market disturbance. In some Member States, one third of wine consumption is related to tourism. Therefore, wine consumption has continued to decline and stocks remain high. Those effects of the pandemic coupled with the tariffs imposed by the United States and the frost snap in Europe in April 2021 have had a severe negative impact on the income of wine producers in the Union. It is estimated that the combination of all those factors has had the effect of reducing on average by 15 to 20 % the turnover of the Union wine sector, with some companies having reported losses of up to 40 %.

• (3) In addition, the uncertainty as to the duration of the crisis, which remains difficult to predict due to the rapid mutability of the virus, further deepens the existing significant disturbance of the Union wine market. This means that the recovery of the sector will take longer than could be foreseen at the beginning of 2021. Consequently, it is appropriate to continue to offer temporary and exceptional support to the Union wine sector to avoid the increase in bankruptcies that has been reported.

• (4) The continued implementation of the measures to address the crisis in the Union wine sector, which were introduced by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/600 and subsequently amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/78 ⁴, is considered essential to provide Member States and operators with the necessary flexibilities to implement support programmes in the Union wine sector. In particular, the possibility for Member States to introduce changes to their respective national programmes whenever necessary during the year has enabled Member States to react quickly to the exceptional circumstances of the recent months and to submit changes to their support programmes as early as deemed necessary. This flexibility has allowed Member States to introduce new measures, optimise measures already in place and to adjust measures more frequently and as necessary, taking account of the fast changing market situation. In addition, the flexibility introduced for the implementation of the green harvesting measure has afforded operators the time required to plan the measure and to find the requisite labour force to operate under the difficult conditions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

• (5) As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to continue beyond the end of the year 2021 and thus during a considerable part of the financial year 2022, it is necessary to extend the application of the measures laid down in Article 2 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/600 for the duration of the financial year 2022. However, as the measures set out in Articles 3 and 4 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/592 ⁵ may only be financed under support programmes in the wine sector during financial years 2020 and 2021, the extension of the application should not apply to those measures.

• (6) Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/600 should therefore be amended accordingly.

• (7) In order to ensure continuity between financial years 2021 and 2022, this Regulation should enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and apply from 16 October 2021.

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Amendments to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/600

Article 2 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/600 is amended as follows:

• (1) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.   By way of derogation from Article 2(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1150, Member States may introduce, in relation to the measures referred to in Article 45(1), point (a), and Articles 46 to 52 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and in Articles 3 and 4 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/592[^ntr*1-L_2021355EN.01000301-E0006], whenever necessary during the financial years 2020 and 2021 but not later than 15 October 2021, changes to their national support programmes in the wine sector as referred to in Article 41(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.

Member States may also introduce such changes to their national support programmes whenever necessary during the financial year 2022, but not later than 15 October 2022, however only in relation to the measures referred to in Article 45(1), point (a), and Articles 46 to 52 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.

[^ntr*1-L_2021355EN.01000301-E0006]: Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/592 of 30 April 2020 on temporary exceptional measures derogating from certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council to address the market disturbance in the fruit and vegetables and wine sectors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and measures linked to it (OJ L 140, 4.5.2020, p. 6).’;"

• (2) in paragraph 2, the introductory phrase is replaced by the following:

‘2.   By way of derogation from Article 8 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1150, during the financial years 2020, 2021 and 2022, Member States may:’.

Article 2

Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 16 October 2021.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 6 October 2021.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN