Brussels, 21/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 20 November in Strasbourg, the European Parliament approved, without amendments, the proposal which integrates the wine sector into the regulation on the single common agricultural market organisation. The report for consultation by Neil Parish (EPP-ED, Britain) on this draft regulation was adopted by 493 to 4 and 17 abstentions. Changes envisaged related solely to legislative simplification. Nonetheless, during the debate the day before, several MEPs criticised inclusion of the regulation on wine into the single common market organisation. They called for an internet research portal to be set up to allow all wine provisions to be easily found.
The main elements of the common market organisation (CMO) for wine were not integrated in the single CMO regulation as the CMO for wine was still to be reformed at the time when the single CMO was proposed. As far as the wine sector is concerned, the single CMO regulation published in November 2007 therefore only provides for application of the management committee procedure. It is clearly indicated in preamble 8 of this regulation that all provisions relating to the wine sector should be integrated once reform has been adopted, which was precisely the case after publication of Regulation 479/2008. Agriculture ministers from EU member states had reached a political agreement on 19 December 2007 on reform of the wine CMO (EUROPE 9569). (L.C./transl.jl)