After the inadequate support of the the wine sector from the Government of the Southwest 2020, the recent decision of the European Commission, without the additional Community resources, leaves little room for the recovery of the sector, let alone for expressions of satisfaction.
With a question submitted and signed by the Sectoral Head of Rural Development of SYRIZA-PS Stavros Arachovitis, the Deputy Head of Department Olympia Teligioridou and signed by 32 more SYRIZA-PS MPs, asks the Minister for Rural Development and Food to act, in line with the Member States that have requested exceptional funding for the sector, to claim, even now, the support for the wine sector with exceptional Community financing.
Because no one can believe that this most serious sector of our country's agricultural production, our manufacturing industry and our exports can survive and emerge from the crisis of pandemic of mockery, with the meagre support of only the available national funds.
Almost simultaneously with this decision of the European Commission, however, came another inexplicable decision, this time from the Ministry of Finance, which regards the aid for vineyard restructuring received by wine growers as income and not as an investment! This is obviously a wrong decision, probably out of ignorance, but it is still in force, creating obstacles to the necessary modernisation and increase in the competitiveness of wine-growing holdings. We therefore ask the Finance Minister to reconsider his approach, in order to clarify the nature and purpose of the sums received by our vine growers.
The two relevant initiatives should have been taken already, because they are crucial for the viability of our country's wine growers, the vast majority of whom are small producers, while the new growing season and therefore the increased liquidity needs are just around the corner.
The full text follows Question:
Athens, 15 February 2021
QUESTION
To the Ministers
- Finance
- Rural Development and Food
SUBJECT: Immediate need to continue support for viticulture
SYRIZA - PC has timely and with numerous questions and interventions has highlighted the dire situation of the wine sector. The European Commission announced on 28 January that it is extending the package of support measures for the wine sector. This Commission communication marks the recognition of the need to further support the wine sector from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This communication of the European Commission extends the existing measures in place before the advent of the pandemic, but also the emergency measures adopted in 2020, namely the Distillation Crisis and Storage. However, for these, the Commission foresees that they can be financed either from any unallocated funds in the National Envelopes or from the national budgets of the Member States.
But most Member States with strong decolonisation sectors, having spent the amounts available from their national envelopes, are in fact asked to contribute with funds from their national budgets alone in order to prolong these measures. For this reason, Southern Member States had requested exceptional funding for this sector and it is surprising that according to his statements, the Minister of Rural Development and Food welcomed the decision, stating that: «The recent decision of the European Commission to extend for one year, with retroactive effect, the support measures for the wine sector satisfies us as it gives a significant breathing space to the Greek sector».According to the Central Cooperative Wine Organisation (KEOSOE), without additional Community resources, these measures have nothing to offer to alleviate the situation in the wine sector.
In addition, in a press release of 1 February, the Deputy Minister of Finance announced that the Ministry of Finance considers the aid for vineyard restructuring to be income and not an investment. Specifically, the decision states that amounts granted as aid for vineyard restructuring are considered income, non-taxable, not compensatory in nature and included in the EUR 5,000 limit of subsidies for conversion from the special to the normal regime and vice versa.
This decision seems to ignore the concept of vineyard restructuring, which clearly falls within the category of investment agricultural activities and therefore the aid in question concerns an investment and cannot be considered as income.
According to the KEOSOE, considering aid for vineyard restructuring as income will result in the year that the vine grower will receive the aid, will be transferred to the normal VAT regime, but in subsequent years that will not receive restructuring aid, will have to return to the special VAT regime.
While the need for further support to the wine sector from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic is recognised by the European Commission, without any provision for exceptional funding of the only two additional measures adopted by the Commission in 2020 as measures to deal with the pandemic
Because the amounts available from their National Envelopes are almost exhausted in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore the need to finance the additional measures adopted by the Commission in 2020 as pandemic response measures from other resources arises
Because the support for the sector in 2020 was insufficient since for the measure «Wine distillation in case of crisis», the amount finally allocated was 20.503.318,98 and the stocks in the tanks of both wineries and the trade increased excessively compared to 2019
Because therefore the continuation of the exceptional measures to support the sector with generous budgets in 2021 is absolutely necessary for the viability of our country's wine growers, the vast majority of whom are small producers and the new growing season and therefore the increased liquidity needs are just around the corner
Because lastly, considering aid for vineyard restructuring as income rather than as an investment further burdens the income of vine growers and creates conditions that discourage modernisation and increase the competitiveness of holdings
The Ministers are asked:
1) Do you consider the recent decision of the European Commission satisfactory or do you intend to take any action, and what actions, to claim support for the wine sector with exceptional Community funding?;
2) What is the amount available from the National Envelope for the sector, and what is the amount you intend to allocate from the exceptional measures adopted in 2020?;
3) Do you intend, if the above available funds are insufficient, to support them with extraordinary measures from the State Budget, which ones and by what amount?;
4) Do you intend to reconsider the recent decision, according to which the amounts granted as aid for vineyard restructuring are considered income, non-taxable, non-compensatory and included in the EUR 5,000 limit of subsidies for conversion from the special to the normal regime and vice versa?;
The questioning Members of Parliament
Arachovitis Stavros
Olympia Teligioridou
Avramakis Eleftherios
Agathopoulou Irini-Eleni
Alexiadis Tryfon
Anagnostopoulou Athanasia (Sia)
Aulonitis Alexandros-Christos
Vagena Anna
Vardakis Socrates
Dritsas Theodoros
Higoumenidis Nikolaos
Kalamatianos Dionysios
Karasarlidou Euphrosyne (Froso)
Kasimatis Nina
Kokalis Vasileios
Malama Sunday
Mamoulakis Charalambos
Meikopoulos Alexandros
Barkas Konstantinos
Bournous Ioannis
Moraitis Athanasios (Thanos)
Papanatsiou Aikaterini
Perka Theopisti (Petite)
Poulou Panagiou (Giota)
Santorinios Nikolaos
Skouroliakos Panagiotis (Panos)
Syrmalenios Nikolaos
Triantafyllidis Alexandros
Tsipras Georgios
Famellos Socrates
Filis Nikolaos
Hatzigiannakis Miltiadis
Christidou Rallia
Psychogios Georgios
