Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

The crisis in the European wine sector is deep and structural. The continued decline in wine consumption in the EU, combined with geopolitical difficulties in traditional export markets and the effects of climate change on production, have created a scenario of oversupply, depressed prices and serious economic difficulties for European winegrowers. This situation threatens the rural fabric, the landscape and the continuity of an essential part of the cultural and economic heritage of many European regions.

Aware of this reality, the European Commission launched the High Level Group on Wine Policy in July 2024. The results of its work were reflected in the policy recommendations it published in December of the same year. The Parliament asked the European Commission for a rapid response to translate these recommendations into the acquis communautaire. The European Commission responded to these demands promptly by presenting this legislative proposal. These initiatives and the speed with which this proposal was adopted demonstrate the Commission’s awareness and sensitivity to the situation of the sector, as well as its commitment to an effective and coordinated response at European level.

The legislative proposal builds on the work and recommendations of the High Level Group on Wine Policy, which was set up precisely to study these challenges and to propose structural solutions. The recommendations of the Group – which received broad political and institutional support – provide the basis for immediate and proportionate legislative action to stabilise the market and offer future prospects for the sector.

The draft report presented by the rapporteur does not seek to reopen the strategic debate on the substance of the proposal, but to complete and improve it, ensuring that the proposed tools are effective and consistent with each other. It is also essential that this process move forward with the same momentum and speed with which the European Commission has initiated it. The sector needs the co-legislators to take action to provide it with the necessary tools in the shortest possible timeframe.

Amendments have been tabled to reinforce key aspects, such as flexibility for Member States to adopt measures according to the realities of their specific regions; promoting sustainability by supporting adaptation to climate change; and clarification of regulatory aspects to ensure legal certainty and homogeneity in the internal market.

The measures envisaged in the proposal – from voluntary grubbing-up and distillation as crisis management tools for which Member States can earmark national funds, to harmonised labelling for dealcoholised products – form a coherent package. The proposal includes the extension of the duration of activities in the areas of communication and promotion to 5 years. This draft report builds on this by introducing the possibility to extend these activities, as well as the possibility to split large markets geographically or by market segments in order to carry out better targeted campaigns. Another measure that the draft report seeks to underpin is the harmonisation of electronic labelling by introducing in the basic act the fundamental elements of electronic labelling so that it is available when the regulation enters into force. The aim of these measures is twofold: on the one hand, to respond urgently to the current situation, and on the other, to lay the foundations for a more competitive, sustainable model adapted to the new demands of the European market and consumer.

The amendments tabled are intended to complete the inclusion of some key aspects that had been left out of the original proposal. Crisis management measures have been included within the set of sectoral interventions that Member States can adopt in their strategic plans. The aim is to ensure a balance within the common market by offering the opportunity for these measures not to depend exclusively on the economic capacity of each Member State, but also for them to be eligible for European co-financing. In the same vein, the aim is to provide Member States with budgetary flexibility in order to make better use of funds for interventions in the sector. The High Level Group recommended exploring options along these lines and the draft report gives the option to carry over the remaining funds from one year to the next to finance crisis management measures.

In short, this report seeks to provide the EU wine sector with robust and coherent tools adapted to the challenges of the present and of the immediate future. It is the responsibility of the European institutions to step up to face this crisis head-on and to act swiftly and with strategic vision to preserve a sector that is vital for many regions of Europe.