Considerations on COM(2017)457 - EU position in the International Organisation for Vine and Wine - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2017)457 - EU position in the International Organisation for Vine and Wine. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2017)457  |
| date | August 29, 2017 |
(2) Pursuant to Article 2 of the Agreement, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine ('OIV') may adopt recommendations relating to conditions for grape production, oenological practices, definition and/or description of products, labelling and marketing conditions and methods for analysing and assessing vine products.
(3) Union legislation on oenological practices takes into account the recommendations of the OIV. Union methods of analysis are based on OIV recommendations. The substance specifications of the OIV are directly incorporated into Union legislation. Other matters dealt with by the OIV also fall under Union competence.
(4) It is in the mutual interest of the OIV and the Union that the Union is fully informed of the discussions around the development of new OIV resolutions. A more active participation of the Union in the work of the OIV should facilitate the establishment of Union positions with regard to draft recommendations of the OIV and the future development of Union rules in line with the OIV standards. The modalities and scope of the Union participation in the OIV should be clearly defined.
(5) The Union has currently no official status in the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV).
(6) Under Article 4 of the Rules of Procedure of the OIV, an international intergovernmental organisation may request that it be granted a particular status enabling it to intervene in the works of the Commissions, Sub-Commissions and groups of experts, and attend the meetings of the General Assembly and the Executive Committee. That article provides that following a proposal of the Executive Committee and the agreement of the General Assembly, a special arrangement shall be entered into between the OIV and the organisation in question, and that the special arrangement shall define, in each particular case, the specific conditions of collaboration, including the amount of its annual financial contribution. Point A.5 of Annex 3 to those Rules of Procedure further provides that decisions to grant such status shall be taken by the General Assembly of the OIV and that such a decision shall be transmitted by the Director-General of the OIV to the organisation in question in the form of an exchange of letters.
(7) On 1 October 2015, the Council authorised the Commission to launch exploratory talks with the OIV with a view to obtaining a particular status for the Union, in accordance with Article 4 of the OIV's Rules of Procedure 2 . The special arrangement as set out in the Annex to this Decision is the result of the exploratory talks. The effects of the particular status of the Union in the OIV will be limited to the specific conditions therein defined.
(8) Despite the absence of voting rights attached to the particular status, this status will allow for a closer involvement of the Union in the works of the OIV without altering the role of the Member States which are members of the OIV and should maintain their status.
(9) Following such exploratory talks, the Council authorised the Commission to submit, on behalf of the EU, to the OIV a letter requesting that the Union be granted a particular status under the terms of the special arrangement as set out in Annex to this decision.
(10) Following the reception of the letter, the OIV, during its 16th General Assembly on 20 October 2017, is to adopt a decision on the granting of a particular status to the Union in the OIV ('envisaged act').
(11) 20 Member States are members of the OIV. It is appropriate to establish the position to be adopted by these Member States on behalf of the Union in the General Assembly of the OIV, as the envisaged act concerns the role of the Union in the OIV and therefore it directly affects the interests of the Union.
(12) Member States that are members of the OIV should support the decision of the General Assembly to grant the Union such particular status and to enter into such special arrangement with the Union as set out in the Annex to this decision, given the legal effects that may have some OIV resolutions and considering the Union competences in most of the areas covered by the OIV.
(13) It is understood that the decision of the OIV's General Assembly granting such status will be transmitted by the Director-General of the OIV to the EU confirming the date as of which the EU's particular status within the OIV becomes applicable.