|
ON THE EUROPEAN UNION'S WINE REFORM
On 19 December 2007 the
European Union finally agreed on its wine reform package, after a few heated exchanges at the EU Council of (Agricultural) Ministers and 18 months of laborious consultations over the radical plans devised by the EU
Commission [1].
As ever, the Council of Ministers opted for a diluted version of the original proposals tabled by the Commission. These were deemed excessively liberal as well as too pessimistic on the
future prospects for global wine consumption and the capability of European producers to successfully engage their competitors on the world stage.
The Council of Ministers did agree to scrap distillation
though. Its use as a market intervention tool will end in mid-2013, after 42 years of disservice (it was introduced as an exceptional measure when a common wine policy was laid down in 1970 and reinforced twice
thereafter). Only distillation of the by-products of winemaking can remain, for environmental purposes. The EU is quite confident that 'the changes will bring balance to the wine market' [2]. Time will tell.
31 December 2007
[1] Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament -Towards a sustainable European wine sector. COM(2006) 319 final. Commission of the European Communities, Brussels 22 June 2006.
[2] CAP reform: Wine reform will boost competitiveness of European wines. IP/07/1966.
*******
The collection of essays featured previously on this website offers some background information on the EU's latest wine reform,
international wine trade patterns and other global market trends.
|
