Wine Industry Report

An audition on the reform of wine at the Agriculture Commission in Brussels.

Experts and representatives have strongly criticised the proposed reforms by the European Commission, following a meeting recently organised by the Agriculture Commission in Brussels. Most of the speakers pleaded for a more ambitious political stance promoting wines with an emphasis on their rather than for grubbing up vineyards. Quarrels over the question of Chaptilisation - a north-south divide - were asked to be put aside. Giuseppe Castiglione indicated he would take into account the advice received when he reports on 21 November.

“Our objectives of quality must be the development of a quality standard, the political will to achieve this and the reconquest of our traditional markets”, said Riccardo Ricci Curbastro, president of the National Confederation of Italian Wines (FEDERDOC). He was particularly opposed to the suggested idea of listing the varietals and year of harvest on table wines, a project which equally surprised Luis Manuel Capoulas Santos (PSE, PT) due to the difficulty for national organisations to control the quality of the blends.

“The solution does not reside in the abolition of traditional practices nor tearing up vines”, said Péter Botos, representative of the International Federation of Wines and Spirits (FIVS), “first, one must recoup lost markets, it is a question of marketing.”

Carla Capalbo, a specialist wine journalist, particularly warned against grubbing up vines, which should only be taken under the watchful eye of regional experts, notably “because the dramatic fires of the summer showed that it was too risky to leave these areas without any kind of cultivation” and “because some varieties rediscovered today might never have seen the light of day if pulled up ten years ago.”

Necessary budgetry effort

Representatives and experts strongly agreed that it was absolutely necessary to preserve the current budget - if not augment it to take into account the recent enlargement of the EU - and direct these funds to the sector rather than distribute them towards rural development without guaranteeing that viticulturists will be the beneficiaries. Pedro Barato, president of the Association of Young Spanish Farmers (ASAJA) suggested the introduction of a viticulture support through direct aid rather than based upon the hectare as proposed by the Commission, a formula which raised interest among the participants.

Joaquin Hernandez Munoz, President of the Association of Spanish Agricultural Cooperatives (CCAE) président de la section vin de l’association des coopératives agricoles d’Espagne (CCAE) declared himself in favour of national divisions calculated on an historic basis, Spanish producers being penalised first taking into account the forumula proposed by the Commission.

Josef Glatt, director of the Association of Austrian Wine Producers (Österreichischer Weinbauverband), believed that using an historical basis would disadvantage countries like Austria which had not recourse to the expensive measures of distillation.

The only one to support a budgetary reduction was Lord Sewel, author of a report on wine in the House of Lords in Great Britain and said he was in favour of a transfer of funds towards rural development and at the end some community measures towards supporting the market “costly for the contributors”.

The war on sugar was not fought

The prohibition of chaptlisation and the parallel abolition of aid for grape musts (which was introduced to the benefit of the south to compensate them for the competitive advantage of chaptalisation) are, with the scrapping of aid for distillation, among propositions put forward by the European Commission and which raise the most disquiet.

The end of chaptalisation will penalise the zones of production in the north affirmed Josef Glatt, whereas Constant Infalt, director of the Cooperative organisation “Les domaines de Vins Moselle” accused the Commission of not respecting the “historic agreement of 1999″ between the north and the south on the use of sugar”. Chaptalisation was never the problem, don’t let’s make it one now” he underlined and further confirmed by Astrid Lullling (PPE-DE, LU), Christa Klass (PPE-DE, DE) and Csaba Sandor Tabajdi (PSE, HU), the latter drawing attention to the large number of producers in northern Europe. “One must, at all costs, avoid a battle between the north and the south on this issue”, underscored the President of the Agriculture Commission, Neil Paris (PPE-DE, UK), summarising the debates on this issue.

Many experts voiced the idea of a transition period for the disappearance of community support, a solution which particularly interested Maria Isabel Salinas Garcia (PSE, ES). Ilda Figueireido (GUE-NGL, PT), was concerned for the producers of Portugal with regard to the scrapping of aid for distillation for drinking alcohol.

Next steps in the parliamentary calendar

- 21/11/2007: présentation du projet de rapport du rapporteur Giuseppe Castiglione (PPE-DE, IT), devant la commission de l’agriculture du PE;

- janvier 2008: vote du projet de rapport en commission de l’agriculture;

- février 2008: vote du projet de rapport du PE en session plénière à Strasbourg.