Today the European Union has published the new Common Agricultural Policy -CAP – setting the legal framework that will guide EU wine companies for the next years. The new CAP offers a set of tools to secure the competitiveness of the EU wine sector at global level in order to protect its economic, social and environmental sustainability; up to the EU wine sector to make the most of it.
The new Common Agricultural Policy published today mostly rolls over the specific wine measures initiated during the 2008 wine reform. “We welcome the fact that the European Union has maintained the existing measures included in the wine National Support Programmes” said Jean Marie Barillère, President of CEEV.
Since the introduction of the 2008 common market organisation (CMO), the EU wine sector’s exports have increased significantly (more than €14 billion in 2020). However, in a context focused on environment and on the willingness to simplify CAP management, there was a high risk of losing wine specific measures. “CEEV is convinced that wine National Support Programmes under CAP serve the social, economic and environmental sustainability of our sector” said CEEV President. “The measures included can serve the green transition while supporting the social and economic sustainability of our sector. In this framework, it will be up to the sector to make green transition a reality without leaving part of our sector behind” he added.
The new CAP amends the wine Common Market Organisation and the Aromatised Wine Products legislation. In particular, it creates a legal framework for dealcoholized and partially dealcoholized wines and introduces mandatory communication of ingredients and nutrition declaration for all wines and aromatised wine products.
For the first time ever in the food sector, digital communication (e-labels) will be authorised to communicate ingredients and nutrition declaration.
“It is a CAP of innovation, a CAP of transparency and a CAP that better links wines and wine consumers. The CAP sets rules we have been asking for to allow us to respond to consumer expectations, in terms of products – dealcoholized and partially dealcoholized wines – and in terms of means of communication – multilingual e-labels. We may be a traditional sector but, again, wine leads the innovation on communication to consumers.” said Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, Secretary General of CEEV.
“We stand ready from now on to support wine companies in their journey towards digital communication thanks to the U-label digital platform. Digital is key to truly empower consumers, to protect the Single Market for wine and to secure the fair competition between all EU wine operators. Up to us to make to most of it” added Ignacio Sánchez Recarte.
