Nearly 1,000 winegrowers have visited the facilities of the Regulatory Council of the Designation of Origin "Vinos de Lanzarote" since last Monday, November 29 to request the collection of the outstanding 70 percent of the aid for the maintenance of vineyards provided for in the Posei (Specific Options Program due to the Remoteness and Insularity of the Canary Islands), corresponding to 2009.
The 400 winegrowers who have not yet done so, have until 3:00 p.m. this Friday, December 10 to process the application at the headquarters of the Regulatory Council, located at Calle Arrecife, number 9, in San Bartolomé, with public opening hours from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (tel.: 928 52 13 13 and 928 52 10 48).
Last year, the European Union (EU) approved increasing the amount of these aids from 600 to 1,650 euros per hectare of vineyard cultivated, which can be accessed by winegrowers attached to a specific designation of origin. Of this amount, only 30 percent of it has been paid, which is provided by the EU itself, leaving 1,150 euros per hectare of vineyard cultivated to be paid. The central and regional governments pay 50 percent.
On November 23, the Canary Islands Government informed the Regulatory Councils of the obligation on the part of winegrowers to comply with this procedure in order to receive the money pending collection, which in the case of Lanzarote exceeds 1,700,000 euros. And it is that on the island there are more than 1,500 hectares covered by this subsidy belonging to a total of 1,400 winegrowers.
