Brussels, 30/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - The two largest European producers of quality wine (or AOC, appellation d'origine contrôlée), the CNAOC (Confédération nationale des producteurs de vins et eaux de vie de vin à appellation d'origine contrôlée) and FEDERDOC (Confederazione nazionale dei consorzi volontari per la tutela della denominazioni di origine), state their “anger” after their meeting on Thursday 26 April with Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.
The organisations explain in a press release, published on Friday 27 April, that the Commission has not listened to the concerns expressed by AOC wine producers, who have restated their opposition to the proposal aimed at total liberalisation of plantations for all wines. In a letter addressed to Ms Fischer Boel on 19 April, the German, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese quality wine producers called for reform of the common market organisation (CMO) to provide the necessary instruments for adapting and managing AOC wines.
Christian Paly, CNAOC President, considers “it is fanciful to imagine that one can manage the production of quality wines if one no longer has collective control over planted areas, and consequently over the quantities produced in each appellation”. In his view, “such liberalisation of plantations could entail surplus production”. Also, many appellations which have balanced markets today could, tomorrow, become “destabilised and wine prices could plummet”. The Commission does not seem to realise what the consequences of liberalising wine-growing plantations would be in terms of appellations. According to the professionals in the sector, surface areas planted in Rioja could increase from 60,000 hectares today to 350,000 hectares, those in Côtes-du-Rhône from 61,000 to 120,000 hectares, and those in Porto from 45,000 to 250,000 hectares.
The CNAOC and FEDERDOC suggest a real promotion policy should be set in place to “give real economic prospects to the wine sector”. They express concern about the Commission's claimed intentions to “focus its promotion policy solely on external markets”. Riccardo Ricci Curbastro, who presides FEDERDOC, supports the fact that the EU must avail itself of the means to “combat the fall in consumption in certain producer countries and invest on markets with strong development potential, including in Europe”.
After a lengthy debate between the Council and EP on the communication presenting reform solutions for the wine CMO, the European Commission plans to adopt, on 4 July this year, its legislative proposals for bringing changes to the sector. Above all, it is said to be planning to revise its ambitions for the grubbing programme downward (the vines to be pulled up decreasing from 400,000 to 200,000 in several years) but remains decided about abolishing most of the market measures (crisis distillation and by-products, aid to private storage, aid to must enrichment, aid to the production of grape juice) in order to achieve structured balance on the market in due course. (lc)