Brussels, 31/08/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 26 August, the European Commission adopted a proposal aiming to modify certain provisions of the 1999 regulation on the common organisation for the wine market. The Commission will not present its proposed reform of the sector until 2006.
At this point, the Commission is proposing only technical changes to the 1999 legislation:
replacing the distillation obligation for by-products of wine producing with an obligation for the controlled withdrawal of these by-products in the wine-producing areas of Slovenia and Slovakia;
making changes to the annex of the 1999 regulation (on the classification of wine-producing areas) in order to include Poland in wine-producing zone A (this annex establishes the classification into wine-producing zones of areas planted with grape vines in the Member States) ;
authorising various oenological practices and treatments permitted experimentally by various Member States (all with the objectives of an improved mastery of wine production and the conservation of the products concerned, whilst presenting no risks for the health of consumers). The Commission states that these techniques (such as the treatment of musts and new wines still in fermentation using coal, the addition of L-ascorbic acid, the addition of dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC) or the use of yeast mannoproteins) are already recognised and permitted by the International Vine and Wine Office (IWO);
extending the derogation for the production of certain sparkling wines produced in specific regions and the authorisation to use certain languages and specific comments on wine labels.