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Definition
For the purposes of the second subparagraph of Article 11(3) of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008, ‘the normal renewal of vineyards which have come to the end of their natural life’ shall mean the replanting of the same parcel of land with the same variety according to the same system of vine cultivation. Member States may establish further specifications, especially as regards to the age of the vineyards replaced.
Procedure and applications
1. Member States shall lay down: (a) time limits for the implementation of restructuring operations, which shall not exceed five years; (b) bodies or individuals that may submit draft applications; (c) objective criteria for their prioritisation notably in accordance with Article 104(9) of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008; (d) the content of the request, which shall include detailed descriptions of the proposed measures and proposed deadlines for their execution; (e) the procedure for the presentation and approval of request, which shall in particular provide for deadlines for the submission of requests and objective criteria for their prioritisation; (f) a requirement that all requests shall state, for each financial year, the measures to be implemented in that financial year, and the area concerned by each measure and procedures for monitoring such implementation. 2. Member States may lay down a minimum size of the area which may qualify for support for restructuring and conversion, and a minimum size of area resulting from restructuring and conversion and any derogation from this requirement which shall be duly justified and based on objective criteria.
Levels of support
Subject to the provisions of Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 and of this Chapter, Member States shall lay down rules governing the detailed scope and the levels of support to be granted. The rules may provide in particular for the payment of flat-rate amounts, for maximum levels of support per hectare and for the adjustment of support on the basis of objective criteria. In case planting rights used do not result from the restructuring operation and in order to avoid distortion of competition, the support shall be reduced accordingly to take into account the fact that the used planting rights have not caused any grubbing-up cost. The support is paid for the area planted, defined in conformity with Article 75(1). The rules shall be designed to ensure that the objective of the scheme is met.
Financial management
1. Support shall be paid once it is ascertained that either a single operation or all the operations covered by the support application, according to the choice made by the Member State for the management of the measure, have been implemented and controlled on-the-spot. Where support is normally payable only after implementation of all the operations, support shall nevertheless be paid for single operations implemented if the remaining operations could not be carried out due to force majeure or exceptional circumstances within the meaning of Article 40(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 ( 11 ) . If checks show that an overall operation covered by the support application has not been fully implemented for reasons other than force majeure or exceptional circumstances within the meaning of Article 40(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, and where support has been paid after single operations which are part of the overall operation covered by the support application, Member States shall decide to recover the aid paid. 2. As an exception to paragraph 1, the Member States may provide for support for a given operation, or for all the operations covered by the support application, to be advanced to producers before that any operation has been implemented, provided that implementation has begun and the beneficiary has lodged a security. For the purposes of Regulation (EEC) No 2220/85 ( 12 ) , the obligation shall be to implement the operations concerned by the end of the second wine year following payment of the advance. That period may be adjusted by the Member State in cases where: (a) areas concerned are part of an area which has suffered a natural disaster recognised by the competent authorities of the Member State concerned; (b) planned operations cannot be implemented because the plant material suffers health problems which have been certified by a body recognised by the Member State concerned. In order for support to be paid in advance, any previous operation carried out on the same area, for which the producer also received support in advance, must have been fully implemented. If checks show that the measure covered by the aid application, and for which an advance has been paid, has not been fully implemented, the Member States may decide to apply a penalty.
Transitional measures
Member States may authorise the transformation of the ongoing restructuring operations already planned in application to Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 into a new application under Article 11(3) of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 provided that: (a) any such transformation is funded within the funds made available in the support programme for the measure as referred to in Article 11(3) of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008; (b) the continuation of the measure fulfils, after adaptations if needed, the conditions set down in this Article.
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