(1)

The rules for the restructuring and conversion of vineyards are laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1227/2000 of 31 May 2000 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine, as regards production potential (2).

(2)

The detailed rules on financial planning and participation in financing the restructuring and conversion scheme laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1227/2000 stipulate that the references to a given financial year refer to the payments actually made by the Member States between 16 October and the following 15 October.

(3)

In accordance with Article 14(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, the financial allocation between Member States must take due account of the proportion of the Community vineyard area in the Member State concerned.

(4)

For the purposes of implementing Article 14(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, the financial allocations should be made in respect of a certain number of hectares.

(5)

Under Article 13(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, the Community contribution to the costs of restructuring and conversion is higher in regions classified as Objective 1 in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds (3).

(6)

Account must be taken of the compensation for the loss of income incurred by the wine growers during the period when the vineyard is not yet in production.

(7)

In accordance with Article 17(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1227/2000, where expenditure actually incurred by a Member State in a given financial year is less than 75 % of the initial allocation, the expenditure to be recognised for the following financial year, and the corresponding total area, are to be reduced by a third of the difference between this threshold and the actual expenditure incurred during the financial year in question. This provision applies in the 2006/2007 wine year to Hungary, whose expenditure in respect of 2006 amounts to 34 % of its initial allocation, to Slovakia, whose expenditure in respect of 2006 amounts to 15 % of its initial allocation and to the Czech Republic, whose expenditure amounts to EUR 0.

(8)

In accordance with Article 14(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, the initial allocation is adapted in view of real expenditure and on the basis of revised expenditure forecasts submitted by the Member States, taking account of the objective of the scheme and subject to the funds available,