Article 4 · Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2093

Contents

Article 4Grubbing up of productive vineyards in justified cases of crisis#

1.Subject to the approval by the Commission as provided for in Article 216(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Member States maintaining the vineyard register referred to in Article 145 of that Regulation may grant national payments for the voluntary grubbing up of productive vineyards implemented in their territory under the conditions provided in this regulation. Such national payments shall be proportionate, duly justified by the Member State and targeted to the wines and production regions affected by a structural market imbalance in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article. The grubbing up may be implemented at national or regional level for specific areas or for vineyards producing one or several categories and colours of wines.

2.To determine the existence of a structural market imbalance, the Member State wishing to make use of national payments for the measure referred to in paragraph 1, shall demonstrate the occurrence of one of the following market circumstances, for the categories and colours of wine produced by eligible vineyards, either at regional or at national level, as appropriate:

(a)a substantial increase of the average of estimated ending wine stocks in the previous five marketing years, compared to the average of estimated ending wine stocks in the previous 10 marketing years. The increase of estimated wine stocks in the previous five marketing years shall also be significantly bigger than the increase in average wine production over the same reference period of the previous 10 marketing years.The estimated ending wine stocks of a marketing year mean the actual ending wine stocks of that marketing year increased by the quantities of wine removed from the market in the same marketing year by national or Union distillation or green harvesting. The quantity of wine removed by green harvesting is calculated by converting the area subject to green harvesting into wine volume equivalent at average yield in the same year in the same geographical area where it has been applied;

(b)the annual wine production being substantially above the wine volumes annually sold at production level in at least three years over the five previous marketing years;

(c)at least one of the market circumstances referred to in Article 3(2) has occurred in at least three marketing years over the five previous marketing years;

(d)a substantial decrease of the average annual profitability per hectare of vineyard during the previous 10 marketing years, calculated on the basis of a standard methodology used in the economic analysis of the farming sector.

3.The eligible beneficiaries of the national payments for the grubbing up of productive vineyards shall be wine growers whose holding include only vineyard areas planted with a planting authorisation in accordance with Union and national legislation.

4.Only vineyards which, at the time the beneficiary submits the application for support, have been harvested at least once during the ongoing and the two previous marketing years shall be eligible, provided that the relevant harvest declaration has been notified to the competent authority of the concerned Member State.

5.Vineyards that were subject to a restructuring and conversion operation supported under Article 58(1), first subparagraph, point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 during the previous five financial years shall not be eligible for national payments for grubbing up.

6.The maximum amount of national payment per hectare of productive vineyard grubbed up shall not be higher than the sum of:

(a)the direct cost of the operation of grubbing up, to be set by the Member State on the basis of representative standard costs; and

(b)a compensation amount of no more than 100 % of the loss of revenue of one year set at the same level than the annual loss of revenue set by the Member State for the purposes of Article 59(1), third subparagraph, point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.

7.The information concerning parcels grubbed up with the support of the national payment referred to in paragraph 1, including information on the year when the parcel was grubbed up and the identification of the beneficiary, shall be kept in the vineyard register referred to in Article 145 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 for at least 10 marketing years following the one on which the parcel was grubbed up.