Mrs. Catherine Vautrin, French Member of Parliament (MP), presented on October 19th a report analysing the liberalisation of planting rights. This report highlighted the need to maintain at the European level a mechanism for regulating the production for all vineyards (including wines without geographical indication). EFOW welcomes the work of the MP on this fundamental issue for the future of the European wine sector and hopes that similar initiatives will be taken in other wine producing Member States.

EFOW welcomes Mrs. Vautrin report’s main conclusion: the need to maintain a system for the management of the production for the wine sector as a whole. The next step will be to have the support of wine producing Member States to reverse the decision of the Council of Ministers that endorsed the disappearance of these mechanisms, notably planting rights, during the last reform of the wine CMO in 2008.

EFOW considers that the priority should be the reintroduction of a production regulating mechanism at the European level and hopes that other wine producing Member States will strongly commit to this issue.

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

Vautrin report: a new plea for the maintenance of a regulatory tool for the European wine sector