05/12/2016 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 1 December, the European Commission adopted a proposal that seeks to bring Regulation 110/2008 on spirit drinks into line with the European treaty. It divides the provisions adopted by the Commission under that Regulation into delegated acts and implementing acts. The existing EU legal framework for spirits enables the free circulation of goods in the single market by setting up product definitions, labelling rules and provisions related to the protection of geographical indications for spirits. The proposal introduces a few minor technical amendments, in order to address shortcomings in the implementation of the current regulation. It states that ethylic alcohol used in the production of spirits should be of exclusively agricultural origin and bans the use of lead-based cases to cover devices used seal the recipients of spirits in order to avoid any risk of contamination. (LC)