Sub-section 1 — Common Provisions
Beneficiaries
The beneficiaries of the support referred to in Article 45 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 shall be professional organisations, wine producer organisations, associations of wine producer organisations, temporary or permanent associations of two or more producers, inter-branch organisations or, where a Member State decides so, bodies governed by public law within the meaning of Article 1(9) of Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 7 ) .
Private companies may be beneficiaries of the measure referred to in point (b) of Article 45(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.
Member States shall not make a body governed by public law the sole beneficiary of the support.
Duration of the support
The support for each information and promotion operation shall last no longer than three years for a given beneficiary in a given Member State for the measure referred to in point (a) of Article 45(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and for a given beneficiary in a given third country or third-country market for the measure referred to in point (b) of Article 45(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.
However, if justified in view of the effects of the operation, the support for an operation may be extended once for a maximum of two years or twice for a maximum of one year for each extension.
Eligible costs and reimbursement rules for information and promotion operations
Subject to Article 45 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and Articles 6 and 9 of this Regulation, Member States shall lay down rules setting out the eligible actions and their respective eligible costs. Those rules shall be designed to ensure that the objectives of the schemes as laid down in Article 45 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 are met.
Those rules shall provide in particular for the payment either on the basis of standard scales of unit costs calculated in accordance with Article 24 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1150 or on the basis of supporting documents to be submitted by the beneficiaries.
Sub-section 2 — Information in the Member States
Eligible operations
1. The operations and their underlying actions for which the support referred to in point (a) of Article 45(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 is applied shall consist of information for consumers in Member States as regards responsible consumption of wine and the risk associated with harmful alcohol consumption and the Union scheme of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications in relation to the specific quality, reputation or other characteristics of wine due to its particular geographical environment or origin.
2. The information activities referred to in paragraph 1 may be carried out through information campaigns and through participation in events, fairs and exhibitions of national or Union importance.
3. The information disseminated shall be based on the intrinsic qualities of wine or its characteristics and shall not be brand-oriented or encourage the consumption of wine on the grounds of its specific origin. However, the origin of a wine may be indicated as part of the information activity.
4. All information concerning the effects of wine consumption on health and behaviour shall be based on generally accepted scientific data and shall be compatible with the approach of the national authority responsible for public health in the Member State where the operations are carried out.
Eligibility criteria
Member States shall examine an application against the following criteria:
(a)
the operations and their underlying actions are clearly defined, describing the information activities and including the estimated cost;
(b)
assurances that the proposed costs of the operation are not in excess of the normal market rates;
(c)
assurances that beneficiaries have access to sufficient technical and financial resources to ensure that the operation is implemented effectively;
(d)
the consistency with the strategies proposed and the objectives set and the likely impact and success in raising consumer's awareness about responsible consumption of wine and the risk associated with harmful alcohol consumption or about the Union system of protected designation of origin and protected geographical indications.
Priority criteria
1. Having examined the applications, Member States shall give preference to operations:
(a)
concerning both the responsible consumption of wine and the Union systems covering protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications;
(b)
concerning several Member States;
(c)
concerning several administrative or wine regions;
(d)
concerning several protected designations of origin or protected geographical indications of the Union.
2. Member States may establish other priority criteria by indicating them in the support programme. Such other priority criteria shall be based on the specific strategy and objectives set out in the support programme and shall be objective and not discriminatory.
Sub-section 3 — Promotion in third countries
Eligible operations
The operations and their underlying actions for which the support referred to in point (b) of Article 45(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 is applied shall consist in promotion of Union wines on third-country markets provided that:
(a)
the products are intended for direct consumption and export opportunities or potential new market outlets in the targeted third countries exist for them;
(b)
the origin of the product is indicated as part of an information or promotion operation in the case of wine with a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication;
(c)
the operation supported is clearly defined, including the specification of which products may be taken into account, the marketing actions and the estimated cost;
(d)
the information or promotion messages are based on the intrinsic qualities of the wine, and comply with the legislation applicable in the third countries at which they are targeted.
Eligibility criteria
Member States shall examine an application against the following criteria:
(a)
the operations and their underlying actions are clearly defined, describing the promotion activities and including the estimated cost;
(b)
assurances that the proposed costs of the operation are not in excess of the normal market rates;
(c)
assurances that beneficiaries have access to enough technical capacity to face the specific constraints of trade with third countries and have sufficient resources to ensure that the operation is implemented as effectively as possible;
(d)
evidence submitted by beneficiaries that enough products in terms of quality and quantity will be available to ensure answering the market demand in the long run after the promotion operation;
(e)
the consistency between the strategies proposed and the objectives set and the likely impact and success in increasing demand for the products concerned.
Priority criteria
1. Having examined the applications, Member States shall give preference to:
(a)
new beneficiaries who did not receive the support referred to in point (b) of Article 45(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 in the past;
(b)
beneficiaries targeting a new third country or a new third-country market for which they did not receive the support referred to in point (b) of Article 45(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 in the past.
2. Member States may establish other priority criteria by indicating them in the support programme. Such other priority criteria shall be based on the specific strategy and objectives set out in the support programme and shall be objective and not discriminatory.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
