Lawmakers in the European Parliament’s agriculture committee have backed plans to label wine as ‘reduced-alcohol’ rather than with with a ‘low’ or ‘light’ rating as part of measures to support the industry – despite pushback from winemakers.
Unveiled last March, the so-called ‘wine package’ is a set of measures aimed at helping the industry respond to falling demand, oversupply and climate change. In the summer, US tariffs were also imposed on European wines, adding further urgency to the measures.
The committee adopted its position on the European Commission’s plan to support the struggling wine sector on Wednesday.
The idea is that one economic opportunity for the sector lies in the fast-growing market for low- and non-alcoholic wines. Among the measures included in the wine package are new, clearer labels for de-alcoholised wines.
In its position, which was adopted in June, the Council had preferred the term ‘low alcohol’ over the Commission’s proposed ‘alcohol-light’ to replace the current term ‘partially de-alcoholised’.
While the Parliament had previously supported the same terminology, MEPs ultimately backed ‘reduced-alcohol’ in the latest text.
Consumer representatives say the new term is more consumer-friendly. Terms like ‘low’ or ‘light’ “would mislead consumers into thinking drinking can be risk-free,” said Samuele Tonello, senior food officer at the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC).
According to Tonello, the label ‘reduced alcohol’ makes the health implications clearer.
Industry backlash
But the wine industry firmly disagrees. “This is a political demand rather than an improvement in consumer understanding,” said Ignacio Sánchez, secretary-general of the European wine business association CEEV. For him, the new label would be less comprehensible for consumers and would not translate well across languages.
Other elements in the text making crisis management measures at reducing excess wine on the market, such as vine grubbing and wine distillation, eligible for EU funding.
This is important to “ensure a level playing field among winegrowers in the different Member States” said the rapporteur of the file, Spanish socialist MEP Esther Herranz García.
The report also introduces the possibility of carrying over unused funds for wine sector aid from one year to the next, and calls for granting the Commission greater powers to act swiftly in the event of market disturbances.
Given the urgency of the crisis, Herranz García has requested that the negotiating mandate for inter-institutional talks be granted to the committee without requiring a vote from the full Parliament.
Talks over the final version could then start with the Council.
(adm, jp)
