20.6.2001 Official Journal of the European Communities L163/11 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1203/2001 of 19 June 2001 opening crisis distillation as provided for in Article 30 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 for table wines in France THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine ('), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 2826/2000 (), and in particular Articles 30 and 33 thereof, Whereas: 1) () ) 0] 0] Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 14931999 provides for the possibility of opening crisis distillation in the event of exceptional market disturbance caused by major surpluses. Such measures may be limited to certain cate- gories of wine andfor certain areas of production and may apply to quality wines psr at the request of the Member State. The French Government has requested that crisis distilla- tion be opened for table wines produced in France. Production of table wine in France was 22,6 million hectolitres in 1997 and 21,1 million hectolitres in 1998. In 1999 the figure was 25,2 million hectolitres and in 2000 it was 23,02 million hectolitres. Over that same period, table wine consumption in France remained relatively stable in the 1996/97 and 1997/98 wine years at around 18,3 million hectolitres, but fell in 1998/99 to 17,3 million hectolitres, which also appears to be the level of consumption for 1999/ 2000. By contrast, exports rose slightly between 1997 and 1999, but only exports to other Member States. Provisional figures for 2000 point to a fall in exports. Stocks of table wine were 12,853 million hectolitres in 1997 and 12,086 million hectolitres in 1998. They fell to 10,85 million hectolitres in 1999. In 2000, they rose sharply to 14,07 million hectolitres. The fluctuation in stocks obviously varies widely from one department to the next, but it is very pronounced in departments with a large stock, with increases of between 47 % and 88 %. The growth in stocks has had a negative impact on prices, which have fallen by about 10 % to 17 % over the current wine year compared with the same period in the previous year. L 179, 14.7.1999, p. 1. L 328, 23.12.2000, p. 2. (6) In view of this situation, crisis distillation was opened for 800 000 hectolitres of wine by Commission Regula- tion (EC) No 25/2001 of 5 January 2001 opening crisis distillation as provided for in Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 14931999 for table wines in France (). It has been found that this volume is insufficient to reduce stocks of table wine to an acceptable level and rectify the difficult market situation. Since the conditions laid down in Article 30(5) of Regu- lation (EC) No 1493/1999 are still satisfied, a further crisis distillation covering a maximum of 1,5 million hectolitres of table wine should be opened. The measure should apply for a limited period with a view to maximum effectiveness. No ceiling shoud be set on the quantity that individual producers can have distilled because stocks may vary substantially from one producer to another and depend more on sales than on the individual producer's annual output. The mechanism to be introduced is that provided for by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000 of 25 July 2000 laying down detailed rules for implementing Regu- lation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine with regard to market mecha- nisms (¥, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 545/ 2001 (). In addition to the Articles of that Regulation referring to the distillation measures provided for in Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, other provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000 apply, in particular those concerning the delivery of alcohol to intervention agencies and the payment of an advance. The price to be paid by distillers to producers should be set at a level that permits the solution of the problems faced by allowing producers to take advantage of this measure. That price should not, however, be such that it adversely affects the application of the distillation measure provided for by Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999. The product of crisis distillation must be raw or neutral alcohol for compulsory delivery to the intervention agency in order to avoid disturbing the market for potable alcohol, which is supplied largely by distillation under Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999. , 6.1.2001, p. 11. O/ L3 () O] L 194, 31.7.2000, p. 45. ojLS 1, 21.3.2001, p. 21.