EFOW welcomes the conclusions of the event on planting rights and the place of viticulture in the CAP organised by the French Senate, in collaboration with FranceAgriMer and the CNAOC, on the 4th of April 2011
Brussels, 5th of April 2011. Representatives of the Italian, Spanish, Hungarian and French[1] Parliaments expressed themselves in favour of maintaining a regulatory mechanism and the specificity of the wine sector in the context of the reform of the CAP after 2013.
The French Minister of Agriculture – Mr. Bruno Le Maire – opened the floor by stressing the fact that the liberalisation of planting rights is “an economic madness (…) at a time where extremisms are gaining weight, such a political mistake would fuel populism”. He expressed his intention to gather the support of a large number of Member States in order to send a joint letter to the European Commission asking for the planting rights regime to be maintained.
All the members of parliament (MPs) present gave their support to this initiative. They pledged to work towards building a strong position on this issue in their respective countries, the objective being to have a common front at the European level.
Reminder: a few days ago the Bundesrat (Germany) passed a resolution calling for the reintroduction of planting rights.
The participants also discussed the place of viticulture in the CAP. The CAP reform is the only agricultural reform on the EU agenda before the 1st of January 2016, date of the foreseen liberalisation of planting rights. It is therefore an important opportunity to secure concrete answers to the needs expressed by the wine sector as far as the production potential management is concerned. The MPs also underlined the fact that the wine sector must be present in the CAP budget discussions and that the principle of a specific budget (national envelopes) must be preserved until 2020.
EFOW’s President, Mr. Riccardo Ricci Curbastro, who took part in this event, expressed satisfaction with the content of the debates: « the positioning of national MPs as well as the determination of the French Minister sends a strong signal. Maintaining our wine model and the management of production is not just an economic question but more importantly a social issue, as the abolition of planting rights will affect the development of territories, landscapes, the environment etc. Governments must take a stand ».
Contacts:
Daniela Ida ZANDONA’ (Bruxelles) : +322733 50 58
Pascal BOBILLIER-MONNOT (Paris): +33142612125
José Alfonso SIERRA SALINAS (Madrid): +34619665066
Pasquale DE MEO (Rome): +390644250589
Alberto RIBEIRO DE ALMEIDA (Porto): +351222071647
David BRASZIL (Budapest): +3614137527
[1] M. PICCIONI Vice President of the Agriculture Committee of the Italian Senate
M. FIORIO MP and member of the Agriculture Committee of the Italian Chamber
Mme. CENNI MP and member of the Agriculture Committee of the Italian Chamber
M. PÉREZ LAPAZARÁN, Senator of Navarre and spokesperson in the Senate for the Partido Popular on agricultural issues
M. FONT MP and President of the Agriculture Committee of the Hungarian Chamber
Numerous French MPs were also present.