Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and the European Council have reached a preliminary agreement on a new “wine package”, a group of measures intended to support the industry.
The package, is “addressing challenges that wine producers face and unlocking market opportunities”, a statement from the Parliament said.
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The bloc has been negotiating the layout of the wine package since the Commission laid out a list of proposed policy shifts in March.
Under the group of updated measures, negotiators have agreed to allow wine products to carry the “alcohol-free” descriptor together with “0.0%” if their alcohol content does not exceed 0.05% by volume.
Beverages with an alcohol strength of 0.5% or higher, and at least 30% below the standard alcohol level for that wine category before de-alcoholisation, are permitted to be labelled “alcohol reduced”.
The minimum alcoholic strength for wine in the EU stands at roughly 8.5% abv.
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By GlobalDataLast month, MEPs agricultural committee backed a proposal to use the term “reduced alcohol” on labels of wines around 6% abv.
The latest updated policy framework also looks to help producers face ongoing environmental challenges like climate change.
In situations involving severe natural disasters, extreme weather, outbreaks of plant diseases or the presence of harmful pests, winegrowers have been allowed to have an extra year to plant or replant affected grapevines.
Negotiators have also agreed that EU funding can be used for “grubbing-up” initiatives.
For wine distillation and green harvesting, the payment cap will be fixed at 25% of the total wine-sector funds available to each member state.
A wine glut is affecting vintners across the EU. Last week, France’s ministry of agriculture announced it was allocating €130m ($150m) to support a new grubbing-up plan for the local wine sector.
The ministry said it had also called on the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, “to mobilise the European crisis reserve”, to support “the crisis distillation of non-marketable overstocks” mainly in cooperative cellars.
Germany has also called on the bloc in recent months to consider expanding its plan for winemakers to grub-up vineyards.
The latest provisional deal also includes measures to step up financing for promotional activities targeting markets outside the EU, as well as simplifying labelling rules across the bloc.
In a statement from the Council, the Danish minister for food, agriculture and fisheries Jacob Jensen said: “This agreement ensures that the producers can adapt, innovate and compete globally, while safeguarding rural livelihoods and preserving the quality and diversity that consumers expect from European wine.”
The preliminary agreement still needs to be given the green light by Parliament and Council before it can be fully adopted into law.
European wine trade body Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins has welcomed the provisional deal.
“It is a good legal package, measures on promotion, investment and wine tourism, in particular, respond to long-standing requests from operators to focus on market-oriented tools. However, we need to be conscious that EU law cannot resolve all the challenges we face,” said Marzia Varvaglione, president of the CEEV.
“The outcome of the trilogue confirms a balanced approach that avoids focusing solely on destructive, crisis-driven measures” she added.
The group however said it was firmly agaist using EU funds for the uprooting of vines.
It also criticised the decision to permit the use of the “alcohol reduced” descriptor on certain de-alcoholised wines, as it said it makes “a legal loophole for products above 6% abv, which risks undermining legal clarity and market coherence”.
