The period of application of the intervention for restructuring and conversion of wine-growing areas in Greece concerns the 2023-2024 wine year.
The implementation period of the restructuring and conversion programme for wine-growing areas in Greece concerns the wine years 2018-2019 to 2022-2023, in accordance with the National ‘Support Programme for the wine sector 2019-2023’, as in force each time.
The Programme shall cover one or more of the following actions:
the varietal conversion of vineyards, including re-grafting.
(b) the relocation of vineyards.
improvements in vineyard management techniques linked to the objective of the programme.
The actions are broken down into concrete measures that should make significant structural changes to the vineyard.
Actions include the following measures:
(a) Eradication – replanting, divided into:
- Eradication
- Soil preparation
- Replanting (Based on a replanting authorisation in accordance with Article 66 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013).
(b) Planting of vineyards comprising:
- Soil preparation
- Planting
c) Re-vaccination (for the varietal conversion of vineyards)
Improvement of certain techniques for managing wine-growing areas broken down into:
- Support
- Construction of terraces
The restructuring and conversion programme does not cover the normal renewal of vineyards reaching the end of their natural life cycle.
Normal renewal of vineyards approaching the end of their natural life means the replanting of the same parcel of land with the same variety according to the same system of viticulture.
Support for the restructuring and conversion programme may only take the following forms:
- Contribution to the costs of restructuring and conversion measures.
- Compensation to beneficiaries of the scheme for the loss of income they have suffered as a result of the implementation of the measures
The programme shall apply only to areas which fulfil the following conditions:
a) they are planted with wine grape varieties classified in accordance with Decision No 2919/95506/13-9-2017 of the Minister and Deputy Minister for Rural Development and Food ‘Classification of wine grape varieties and raisin varieties’ (Government Gazette, Series II, No 3276/18-09-2017), as in force.
b) they are registered in the Vineyard Register.
producers have submitted, for them and for their entire wine-growing holding, harvest declarations or production declarations where required, for at least the two wine years preceding the period of inclusion in the programme. These declarations, together with an on-the-spot check, are proof that the vineyard concerned is properly maintained.
(d) a Single Payment Application has been submitted for them for the current calendar year;
the obligations arising from national and Community provisions for the entire wine-growing holding have been complied with.
a minimum parcel area for participation in the programme is set at half (0,5) acres.
areas planted with the varieties "Xinomavro" and "Negoska" in the Regional Unit of Kilkis, which participate in the "PDO Goumenissa" wine, cannot participate in the programme for the actions "grubbing-replanting with another variety" and "re-vaccination" for reasons of protection and preservation of the wine-growing character of the Zone.
For the same reason, in the Regional Unit of Achaia, the ‘Corinthian’ and ‘Mavrodaphne’ varieties participating in the ‘Mavrodaphne of Patras’ PDO wine, as well as the ‘Moschato Aspro’ variety participating in the ‘Moschatos of Patras’ and ‘Moschatos of Rio-Patras’ PDO wines, cannot participate in the programme for the same actions.
By contrast, the varieties Tsapourno in the Regional Units of Kilkis and Kotsifoliatiko in the Regional Units of Chania, Rethymno, Heraklion and Lasithi may participate only in the following actions:
- grubbing up/replanting with another variety
- revaccination
The establishment of the new vine plantation is carried out:
in the same location as the one grubbed up or in a different location of the same holding and on an area equivalent to the one grubbed up.
b) according to modern systems of vine cultivation with or without trellis.
c) in accordance with the applicable national legislation (no. 1011/21054/18-02-2016 Y.A. as in force).
All measures provided for in the restructuring and conversion programme shall be completed no later than five (5) wine years, beginning
from the wine year of submission of the application for inclusion in the programme, including in the case of force majeure.
The new plantation should be maintained for a period of at least 10 years, calculated from the financial year of payment of the support. This obligation accompanies the parcel independently of the legal holder of the area. Where the non-compliance with that obligation is the result of an action or omission for which the producer is directly responsible, the amount of the aid shall be reduced or cancelled in whole or in part, depending on the seriousness, extent, permanence and repetition of the non-compliance, and where appropriate the producer shall be required to repay the aid in accordance with the conditions laid down in those provisions.
No support shall be granted for areas:
- concerning experimental vineyards and graft nurseries.
- which have received Community or national support for the same measures provided for in that programme during the ten (10) preceding financial periods preceding the application for inclusion in the vineyard restructuring and conversion programme, calculated from the financial year of payment of the support.
- winegrowers whose holdings occupy less than 1 acre of vineyard and no part of the harvest has been or will be marketed in any form in addition
- Support shall not be granted to producers with illegal plantings and areas planted with vines without authorisation.
- Producers who, after their final approval, have voluntarily left the programme for reasons not related to cases of force majeure shall be excluded from the programme for the following two wine years.
Beneficiaries of the support of the vineyard restructuring and conversion program are natural or legal persons, who cultivate wine grape varieties and the headquarters of their holding may be located in any EU country, and/or have planting permits from conversion or replanting permits as described below:
i) On the basis of planting authorisations that have resulted from conversion, in accordance with Ministerial Decision No 3535/96221/07-09-2015 on the conversion of planting rights into planting authorisations in accordance with the transitional provisions of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 (Government Gazette, Series II, No 996); and
concern replanting rights resulting from grubbing-up of an equivalent area
ii) On the basis of a replanting licence for the same holding in accordance with Article 66 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.
In any case, the above licenses (i) and (ii) may receive support under the Program for as long as they are valid.
The eligibility of applications shall be assessed on the basis of criteria.
For each wine year, the allocation of funds to eligible applications shall be based on the following objective and non-discriminatory criteria, in order to serve the strategic objectives of the programme and until the available budget is exhausted.
A. Young farmers:
Young farmers are producers who are under 40 years of age and who set up for the first time as heads of the holding. The criterion is met if the producers in question have been issued with a certificate of registration with M. A. S.A. as new entrants in the agricultural sector.
Criterion gravity factor W1=0.1
Compliance factor with criterion Pt1=10 for compliance and Pt1=0 for non-compliance.
B. Areas intended for restructuring in the context of the viability of small and medium-sized holdings
The criterion shall be deemed to be fulfilled if at the time of application:
(1) the size of the applicant's vineyard ranges from 1 to 20 hectares planted with wine grape varieties according to the data in the vineyard register.
(2) the size of the applicant's vineyard ranges from 20 to 50 hectares planted with wine grape varieties according to the data in the vineyard register.
(3) the size of the applicant's vineyard ranges from 50 acres or more planted with wine grape varieties according to the data in the vineyard register.
Criterion gravity factor W2=0.3
The Conformity Factor Pt2 takes the values of 10, 7 and 5 for each of the cases (1), (2) and (3) respectively
C. Areas facing natural or other specific constraints.
The above criterion is fulfilled if the parcels applied for are located on one of the smaller Aegean or Ionian islands, as defined in Regulation (EU) No 229/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
Criterion gravity factor W3=0,2
Compliance factor with criterion Pt3=10 for compliance and Pt3=0 for non-compliance
D. Areas where vineyards can produce superior quality:
The above criterion is fulfilled if the parcels for which an application for inclusion in the restructuring programme is made are located in a demarcated area for the production of PDO or PGI wines and on the basis of the harvest or production declarations submitted for eligibility and relating to the producer’s entire wine-growing holding, the yields are in accordance with the legislation on the production of PDO or PGI wines.
Criterion gravity factor W4=0,2
Compliance factor with criterion Pt4=10 for compliance and Pt3=0 for non-compliance
E. Areas where vineyards contribute to the preservation of the environment.
The above criterion shall be fulfilled if one of the following applies:
(1) The applicant is in possession of wine grapes at the time of submission of the application and has applied the organic production rules (in transition or full application) to the entire area planted with vines for at least five years prior to the submission of the application.
(2) The applicant has been in possession of wine grapes at the time of the application and has implemented national certification schemes for integrated production management on the entire area planted with vines for at least five years prior to the submission of the application.
Such cases require certification by accredited certification bodies.
The criterion is met if the producer provides the relevant Documentary Evidence-Certificate of Conformity:
(a) the organic production rules laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 and, where applicable, Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008; or
b) with national certification schemes for integrated production management (AGRO 2-1 and 2-2)
Criterion gravity factor W5=0,2
The Conformity Factor Pt5 takes the values 10 and 5 for cases (1) and (2) respectively and the value 0 for non-compliance.
Eligible individual applications are ranked at country level, using the general formula
Pt=W1*Pt1+ W2*Pt2+......+ Wn*Ptn where:
Pt= total points assigned to a specific individual application
W1, W2..., Wn = Criteria Gravity Factor
Pt1,Pt2...., Ptn = compliance factor with the criteria
In the event that the available funds are exhausted for a ranking position in which several applications have been tied, the remaining funds shall be allocated to those applications on the basis of the application of the following additional priority criteria, which shall be aligned with the strategic objectives of the Programme:
Priority shall be given to applications where the producer requests planting in the final position of the following indigenous varieties
White: Assyrtiko, Malagouzia, Vidiano
Red: Agiorgitiko, Xinomavro, Mavrodaphne
Rosés: Moschofilero
If even after the application of the above additional criterion there are still tied points, then
B. Priority shall be given to producers in ascending order of the size of a wine-growing holding (wine varieties), with a view to improving small and fragmented holdings
The following areas may be included in the programme for the restructuring and conversion of vineyards:
(i) replanting authorisations, in accordance with Article 66 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013;
converted planting authorisations for replanting rights resulting from the grubbing-up of an equivalent area.
Authorisations for new plantings approved by the electronic procedure for granting authorisations in accordance with the application of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 in 2016 and onwards may be included for financial aid only in the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020, Measure 4.1.1. In order to avoid double funding.
The loss of income of wine-growing areas shall be compensated as a result of:
i. soil grubbing-up and preparation; or
ii. revaccination
Financial aid relating to the restructuring and conversion of vineyards shall be fixed at a flat rate per measure, in EUR/stremma.
The financial aid for the programme for the restructuring and conversion of wine-growing areas may be granted in advance to producers; a measure/action shall be implemented after 10 June of the wine year of inclusion in the programme, provided that it has:
a) submits a relevant application for advance payment, indicating the amount of advance payment of the aid applied for, equal to 80% the total amount of aid.
(b) start the implementation of the measure;
(c) an open-ended guarantee by the producer is provided by an approved financial institution in the amount of 90% the total amount of aid.
The closing date for the submission of a letter of guarantee is 20 June of the year of payment. By decision of the Minister for Rural Development and Food, it is possible to extend it depending on the course of the programme and in the light of the maximum possible
absorption of funds.
Source: Ministerial Decision 1849/57000 (Government Gazette, Series II, No 1505 of 2 May 2018) laying down the additional measures necessary for the implementation of Article 46 of Regulation Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1149/2016 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1150/2016 on the implementation of the programme for the restructuring and conversion of wine-growing areas in Greece – National Support Programme for the wine sector 2019-2023
