L 309/18 Official Journal of the European Communities 19.11.98 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2486/98 of 18 November 1998 introducing preventive distillation as provided for in Article 38 of Council Regu- lation (EEC) No 822/87 for the 1998/99 wine year THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 of 16 March 1987 on the common organisation of the market in wine (), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1627/98 (3, and in particular Article 38(5) thereof, Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2721/88 (3, as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2181/91 (%), lays down detailed rules for voluntary distillation as provided for in Articles 38, 41 and 42 of Regulation (EEC) No 822/87; whereas Commission Regulation (EC) No 1648/ 98 (°) fixes the prices, the aid and certain other factors applicable to preventive distillation for the 1998/99 wine year; Whereas, in view of the level of end-of-year stocks, the harvest forecasts and the difficulties on certain markets, it is necessary to provide rapidly for preventive distillation; whereas the data on supplies are however still incomplete; whereas, therefore, preventive distillation should be opened and an overall volume should be fixed for the Community and broken down by production region, without however precluding the possibility of adapting these volumes once the full data on supplies are known; whereas the overall volume should be fixed at 8 000 000 hectolitres of table wine; whereas the economic situation of wines may vary in the different production areas of a Member State; whereas, therefore, the authorities of the Member States should be allowed to allocate different quantities to different production areas; whereas, in order to prevent discrimination between producers, the Commission should be informed as to how this allocation is justified by the particular conditions on the wine market in the different production areas and must be able to comment on such allocations; Whereas, given the low yields obtained in Spanish and Portuguese wine-growing areas, a different volume for products obtained from grapes harvested in Portugal and a maximum percentage for the production which can be distilled from products obtained from grapes harvested in OJ L 84, 27. 3. 1987, p. 1. OJ L 186, 16. 7. 1998, p. 9. OJ L 241, 1. 9. 1988, p. 88. OJ L 202, 25. 7. 1991, p. 16. OJ L 210, 28. 7. 1998, p. 63. the Spanish wine-growing zone C should be set so as to give comparable results in terms of a percentage of production for the entire Community; whereas, consid- ering that there is no data on supplies of table wine in Austria, a specific regime should be set for that country; Whereas, with a view to applying this Regulation, it is necessary to know the areas cultivated for production in order to determine the quantity which producers may have distilled; whereas a large number of Greek producers do not have the necessary data owing to the administra- tion’s delay in introducing the planned administrative structures; whereas, so that the abovementioned producers are not prevented from qualifying under the measure, provision should be made for the reference areas to be determined on the basis of a flat-rate yield for Greece as a whole; Whereas, in order to increase the efficiency of this measure, application should be extended to a period long enough to take account of the time required to make wine in certain regions, and contracts or declarations should be approved rapidly up to a certain level to enable growers and distillers who so wish to start deliveries and distillation as early as possible; whereas proper performance of the contracts and declarations signed by the producers should also be ensured by means of a security which will guarantee delivery of wine to a distil- lery; Whereas Member States should be required promptly to communicate to the Commission the quantities for which contracts have been signed so that the Commission may set a single acceptance rate for contracts or declarations submitted if the overall quantity applied for throughout the Community exceeds the 8000000 hectolitres provided for; Whereas, with a view to the sound management of the quantities in question, it is necessary to derogate from specific provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 2721/88 and to provide that the quantities applied for in the contracts and declarations may be reduced; Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Wine,