Brussels, 20/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - The agriculture Council must adopt, on Monday, without debate, the "conclusions" of a bilateral agreement on wine. This text, presented by the French Presidency with the Commission's approval, underlines the constant rise in wine imports to the Union. The volumes imported have multiplied by 2.3 between 1993 and 1999 to reach 6.3 million hectolitres and the value of imports multiplied by 4 over the same period. At the same time, they note that a stagnation in the volume (but a doubling in value) of exports from the EU towards third countries.
In its conclusions, the Council reaffirms that the multilateral negotiations for the ADPIC agreement should push forward the recording of the geographic indications protected in the Union. It also defines a line of conduct in the negotiations. For the names considered in third countries as generic or semi-generic, the EU must try to obtain the fixing of bilateral agreement for transitional periods beyond which must stop the use of names that correspond to geographical indications protected in the Union ("phasing out" system already used notably in the agreement with South Africa: Ed.). As far as other denominations are concerned, the Council may foresee negotiation of the geographical indications being protected according to an approach based on labelling legislation. Traditional mention closely linked to the origin of a product must be protected in the same way as names of origin, also by control of labelling. The countries that use these labels could keep the use of them on condition that they respect specifications imposing rules equivalent to those in force in the EU. The Council should also confirm its attachment for mutual establishment of a positive list of recognised wine production practices to be annexed to each bilateral agreement. Tariff concessions will be granted in the light of progress reached in respect of protected denominations and traditional labels and in respect of the "wholly obtained" rule (wine from wine-making in grape production countries). This line of conduct should also be applied to spirits which are in the same situation.