On Tuesday the 8th of June in Angers, the representatives of the European quality products (wine, cheese and other productions) jointly expressed their concerns regarding the programmed expiration of production regulation mechanisms.
They denounced the negative effects on the markets of such an important deregulation of the agricultural policy.
The lack of regulation tools will bring overproduction, drop of prices, degradation of the quality, loss of notoriousness, etc. It will undermine the efforts that have been realised by European producers as well as their capacity to continue to upgrade and maintain the quality of their products. It will completely destabilize a number of sectors, for instance the wine sector which has been already severely hit by the crisis.
The representatives of the quality sectors call for a mobilisation of the Heads of States and the Ministers of Agriculture to change the current situation. They support the initiatives that have been taken by some Member States and the “Appel de Paris”. They urge the Ministers to defend the regulation as a whole, from the production phase to the markets.
The European producers present in Angers ask for production regulation mechanisms for quality products to be developed and for the planting rights for the whole of the wine sector to be maintained.
They hope that the reform of the quality policy will recognize the need for a regulation policy and that this recognition will also be integrated in the CAP reform. They wish for a strong involvement of the European parliament and for the development of a coherent approach to both reforms.
Finally, the representatives of the quality wine sector urge the citizens to mobilise for the preservation of a European patrimony, for the maintenance of a diversified diet, authentic and of quality, and for the protection of traditional know-how and landscapes. They ask for their support to the initiatives that these sectors will take in the coming weeks.