New Wines Of Greece

Greek law regarding the wine sector is mainly based on the legal provisions of the European Union. As it does for the other wine-producing Member States, the European Union defines the most significant points of wine legislation in a consistent manner. Particularly after the adoption of the new Common Organisation of the Market in wine regulation, (COM, EC Regulation 479/2008) , which went into effect at the beginning of 2009, a series of important issues related to wine production and the wine market were regulated on a European level: support programmes, replanting rights, protection of designations of origin and geographic indications, permissible oenological practices, presentation and labelling, and relations with third countries. Even the competencies of interprofessional grape and wine organisations are not completely outside the purview of European law. The specific rules have been expressed in greater detail in the so-called executive regulations of the European Commission (mainly Regulations 436/2009, 606/2009 and 607/2009). To these rules are added other regulations of European Union law which either do not specifically refer to wine, or do not come under the rules of the COM. However, they do have a decisive impact on the shaping of the European framework (for example, rules of competition, customs law, regulations for distributing propagation material, label law, special alcoholic beverage consumption tax and so on).

The European Union’s impact on the conditions for exporting Greek wines to third countries has also been decisive for Greek law regarding the wine sector. The European Union has formulated bilateral agreements with a number of countries that are generally based on the mutual recognition of geographical indications, oenological practices or rules for the presentation of wines (http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/markets/wine/third/index_en.htm). Finally, the Court of Justice of the European Union produces a number of rules with decisive influence on Greek law regarding the wine sector through its interpretation and application of related decrees (www.curia.eu).

Greek law regarding the wine sector relates to the execution and supplementation of European regulations (for example, the determination of terms for granting replanting rights), and addresses issues that continue to be regulated at a national level. Nevertheless, it is not unified in a single body. It consists of a series of legislative measures, mainly ministerial decisions, while a number of laws, presidential decrees and circulars may also refer to related issues. The related rules are published in the Official Government Gazette, while a systematic search for them may be made using specialised data bases that require one to be particularly familiar with them in order to complete a thorough search. The same applies to Greek court decisions referring to the interpretation and application of related rules. In addition, a significant portion of acts in Greek wine legislation relate to the determination of preconditions for using indications for various regional wines (PGI wines) and recognised designations of origin (PDO wines). Greek law regarding the wine sector determines the conditions for approval and use of traditional wine designations which are subsequently recognised and protected by the European Union.

Among various issues regulated by Greek law regarding the wine sector, of primary importance are the organisational matters of the sector and particularly the organisation and operation of control and funding mechanism for the production and trade of wine in Greece (Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee of Community Aid-OPEKEPE, the Centre for Control of Propagation Material and Fertilisers-KEYPEL, the Central Committee for the Protection of Winemaking, the National Interprofessional Organisation for Grapes and Wine, and others).