Brussels, 27/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - At a meeting on Wednesday with a large delegation of vineyard owners and politicians, the French Agriculture Minister, Jean Glavany, signalled that he was planning to ask the European Commission for authorisation to distil a volume of between 4 and 5 hectolitres of wine. The cost of this measure is estimated at between EUR 48.7 and 60.9 (including an extension of national aid since the EU price is felt to be too low). This would help to restore some equilibrium in the wine market and help to dispose of a glut which is forcing prices down. Paris will also request a review, as part of the work currently being carried out by the Wine Management Committee, of various management mechanisms for the EU wine market. The proposed changes concern the way the liqueur distillery rules operate.
The French Agriculture Minister hopes that this will head off the inherent crisis that is hitting table wine and "vin de pays" that is mainly produced in the Languedoc Roussillon area. The Minister intends to initiate structural measures in addition to these economic measures in order, as he explained after his meeting with wine industry representatives, to ensure that the country does not face the same situation at the beginning of every marketing year. He has released EUR 17.5 million for the first strand of a plan to restructure the ailing French winemaking industry, aiming to encourage producers to better match production to demand. It also aims to strengthen the commercial strength of the industry. The French authorities also announced that young wine-makers would receive special funding of EUR 2.29 million in the form of financial aid to ensure the long-term viability of their vineyards.