On Thursday 19 June, the EU Member States meeting within the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) approved the EU Council’s negotiating mandate on measures to support the wine sector. The EU Council will be able to start negotiations with the European Parliament once the latter has adopted its position (see EUROPE 13660/9).
The EU Council uses the term ‘alcohol-free’ if the product’s alcoholic strength does not exceed 0.5%, accompanied by ‘0.0%’ if the alcoholic strength does not exceed 0.05%. For products with reduced alcohol content (above 0.5% but at least 30% below the minimum content for the category before dealcoholisation), the European Commission proposed the term ‘alcohol-light’. The EU Council prefers the term ‘low-alcohol’.
The EU Council supports extending the duration of EU-funded promotional campaigns in third countries from three to five years and approves: EU support for promotion and information campaigns, covering up to 60% of the costs; and national aid of up to an additional 30%, with total public funding (national and European) not to exceed 80% of the expenditure incurred.
Wines intended for export should be exempted from the obligation to indicate on the label the list of ingredients and the nutritional declaration required for the EU Internal market.
The EU Council introduces measures to support the fight against flavescence dorée and specifies that the use of rosé wine is allowed in the production of new regional flavoured wine products. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)