Brussels, 07/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, the Wine Management Committee took position in favour of a proposal allowing a crisis distillation to open for wines in Italy. The regulation has still to be approved by the European Commission, and will be applicable as of 25 September 2005. Italy, like several other countries of the EU, is faced with a situation of high production and high surpluses, and repeated its request for such a measure to be taken at the last Agriculture Council (EUROPE 8994). The proposal provides for a crisis distillation to be opened in Italy on a maximum volume of two million hectolitres (hL) of table wines at the normal Community purchase price of 1.914 EUR per hectolitre. The alcohol covered by this distillation cannot be used to produce alcohol for ingestion, but must instead be used for industrial requirements or as bio-fuel. This year, crisis distillations have been opened in France (1.5 million hL of quality wine), Spain (4 million hL of table wine) and Greece (340,000 hL of table wine and 40,000 hL of quality wine) (EUROPE 8969 and 8939). Hungary, which is also faced with a wine surplus situation, has called on the Commission for a crisis distillation of a volume of 215,000 hL to be opened.