28. 5. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 132/3 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 1442/88 ‘ of 24 May 1988 on the granting, for the 1988/89 to 1995/96 wine years, of permanent abandon- ment premiums in respect of wine-growing areas THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Articles 42 and 43 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (!), Having' regard " to the opinion of the European Parliament (3, Whereas the steadily increasing imbalance on the market in wine is such that action must be taken on a scale and of an effectiveness to bring production, in the medium term, definitively back to the level of demand; Whereas experience gained in the reduction of wine-growing potential, in particular under Council Regulation (EEC) No 777/85 of 26 March 1985 on the granting, for the 1985/86 to 1989/90 wine years, of permanent abandonment premiums in respect of certain areas under vines (%), as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3775/85 (*), shows that the effort made must be stepped up ; whereas, in particular, the facility for abandonment must be extended to all classes of wine-growing areas ; Whereas an incentive should be given to the abandonment of wine-growing areas through the grant, during the next eight wine years, of premiums in amounts to be varied on the basis of the productivity of the areas concerned, covering the cost of the grubbing-up operations, the loss of -replanting rights and the loss of future income ; Whereas, in the cases of holders who definitively abandon farming, the measure may be made more attractive if provision is made for replacing the single premium scheme by a system of annual premiums; Whereas a reduction in the number of wine-growing holdings will reduce the dispersion of supply on the market and simplify market management ; whereas there should therefore be a further incentive for holders abandoning the whole of their holdings ; Whereas account should be taken of the situation of institutional and market prices applicable in Spain during the transitional period laid down in the Act of Accession to the European Communities, in order to ensure a () OJ No C 100, 15. 4. 1988, p. (%) Opinion delivered on 20 May 1988 (not yet published in the Official Journal). () OJ No L 88, 28. 3, 1985, p. () OJ No L 362, 31. 12. 1985, p "39. balance between the level of the abandonment premiums and income resulting for holders from the abovemen- tioned prices; Wheréas, to enable the payment -of abandonment premiums to be properly administered, deadlines should be set for the submission of applications and conditions to be complied with by the applicant should also be laid down ; Whereas the abandonment of wine-growing areas by holders who are members of cooperative organizations jointly processing grapes harvested by their members may reduce the quantmes of grapes delivered and thereby increase processing costs ; whereas, it is therefore fair to provide that such negative effects may be compensated for ;- whereas, bearing in mind the differences which exist in wine-growing structures within the Community, any compensation scheme should be adopted by the Member States ; " Whereas, as a matter of fairness, holders implementing this scheme and thus contributing to the effort to restore lasting sound conditions on the market should enjoy a decrease in, ranging as far as exemption from, their contribution to the scheme for compulsory distillation of table wines referred to in Article 39 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 of 16 March 1987 on the common organization of the market in wine (), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1441/88 (%) ; whereas a reasonable arrangement would be for this decrease to be dependent on the reduction of the wine-growing potential carried out and to require, for the grant of such benefit, that the reduction in question should represent at least 50 hl; Whereas the lessening of farming activities may, in certain wine-growing areas, cause serious problems, particularly from the view-point of depopulation, and call into question the policy adopted on quality; whereas -provision should therefore be made for the possibility of not applying or only partially applying the abandonment scheme, whilst fixing limits ensuring that the measure will be effectively applied and will observe the necessary balance between the different wine-growing areas of the Community ; whereas in addition, provision should be made for procedures to alleviate any difficulties that may arise, and in cases of emergency, for the possibility of suspending or limiting the . application of the abandonment scheme ; () OJ No L 84, 27. 3. 1987, (%) See page 1 of this Official _]oumal