On Tuesday 2 February, the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture decided (by 40 votes in favour to five against, with no abstentions) not to oppose the draft delegated regulation that extends the exceptional market measures for the wine sector for 2020 to 2021 (see EUROPE 12646/3). The European Parliament will still need to confirm the decision in plenary session (8-11 February).
The measures were designed to help the industry cope with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the latest US sanctions arising from the Airbus/Boeing trade dispute.
The exceptional measures enable: - EU co-funded national wine support programmes to be more flexible; - changes to be made with regard to promoting wine products, restructuring and converting vineyards, and with regard to investments in processing, marketing and innovation; - a derogation from the rule governing support for ‘green harvesting’ to be introduced; - the EU to co-finance costs linked to restructuring and converting vineyards or green harvesting, even if they are only partially completed.
“We welcome the Commission’s decision to prolong the support measures. We will do our utmost to ensure that the package is endorsed as soon as possible”, said Norbert Lins (EPP, Germany), the Chair of the Committee on Agriculture. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)