Brussels, 01/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - The new agreement governing the trade in wine between Australia and the European Union was officially signed in Brussels on Monday 1 December by Mariann Fischer Boel, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, and Stephen Smith, the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister. This agreement, the provisions of which were adopted without debate by the Council of Ministers of the EU on Friday 28 November, replaces the agreement signed in 1994. The new agreement obliges Australia to phase out the use of certain denominations of wines belonging to the European Community. The compromise between the two parties on the trade in wine was initialled on 5 June 2007 (EUROPE 9440).
The 1994 agreement provided for Australian producers to cease to use major European denominations, such as "Champagne", "Port" and "Sherry", plus 8 other geographical indications and a number of traditional terms such as "Amontillado", "Claret" and "Auslese". The 2008 agreement lays down precise dates for putting an end to the use of these terms.
The new agreement also lays down the conditions under which Australia may continue to use various terms regarding quality wines, such as "vintage", "cream" and " tawny" to describe wines exported to Europe and sold in the internal market. In the agreement, the European Community and Australia undertake mutually to protect their geographical indications. (L.C./trans.fl)