Brussels, 07/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 7 May, the European Wine Companies Committee (CEEV), which is anxious to keep commercial outlets, argued in favour of the transatlantic trade and investment partnership agreement (TTIP) that is being discussed between the EU and the US. This agreement is a cause of concern in Europe - especially among wine-growers.
“Considering the downward trend of wine consumption in the EU, the future of our sector lies in its exports”, said José Ramon Fernandez, the secretary general of CEEV, as quoted in a press release.
CEEV believes that the TTIP “may offer lines of approach that are worth investigating” and may avoid the US - the world's largest market in terms of wine consumption and which “is considering agreements with other wine producing countries” - turning away from the European market.
Between 2005 (the date when the bilateral agreement on wine between the EU and US was signed) and 2012, the trade surplus for the European wine sector increased by 87% in volume and by 30% in value. It was worth more than €2.5 billion in 2013, CEEV states. The organisation underlines that it expects the European negotiators to obtain - in a timeframe that remains to be negotiated - that the US totally stop using semi-generic indications such as Champagne or Chablis.
The Assembly of European Wine-growing Regions, which represents wine-producers, has for its part made its concern known about the TTIP, and has demanded guarantees on the respect of sanitary, environmental and cultural regulations and standards. The TTIP, which the Commission hopes to conclude next year, has become one of the issues in the current campaigning for the European elections.
European Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Ciolos said on the sidelines of the informal meeting of European agriculture ministers on Tuesday 6 May that the European Union should be firm on the issue of food safety in the TTIP discussions. “Europe should not have a defensive position at these negotiations”, Ciolos stated. “Many ministers underlined the need to preserve our values and our agro-nutritional model, which must serve as the basis for these negotiations”, he added. The TTIP discussions involve a large number of complicated questions on market access - including the dispute on GMO crops in the US (soya and maize), and US poultry and meat (especially the issue of the injection of hormones). (LC)