The European Union continued its efforts at conjoining the continent in late December 2007 with the passage of new regulations in the Common Market Organisation for wine.
Following initial suggestions from the EU Agriculture Commission led by Mariann Fischer Boel in 2006, which saw an end of discussion on July 4 2007, the final text of the reform was agreed on on December 19 by European agricultural ministers in Brussels. The changes are said to “bring balance to the wine market, phase out wasteful and expensive market intervention measures and allow the budget to be used for more positive, proactive measures which will boost the competitiveness of European wines”. The reform was prompted by the glut of Old World wines in face of cheaper – and often no less quality – wines from the New World. One of the most controversial segments included the “grubbing up”, or uprooting, of 400 000 acres of vines across Europe. A compromise saw this figure reduced to 175 000 acres to be uprooted, with some leniency given to “mountain and steep slope areas and for environmental reasons”, according to the website of the EU’s agricultural and rural development department.
With an annual EU surplus of about 750 million bottles of wine, reforms such as the phasing out of planting rights until 2015 only served to reinforce the grubbing up decision.
Other changes include stopping subsidies for viticulturists to distil excess wine into industrial alcohol, due to the oversupply of this product as well.
Some of this money will go to funding of national programmes such as promotion in third countries, vineyard restructuring/conversion, rural development measures and supporting green harvest.
For a country like Bulgaria, the changes are seen as positive. When asked for comment, the National Vine and Wine Chamber told The Sofia Echo that Bulgarian producer positively assess the agreement reached. “Of the July 4 suggestion from the EU, we expressed disagreement solely as regarded the proposal on chapitalisation (the process of adding sugar to the grape must before or during the fermentation process) and are glad about the compromise attained as regards sugar,” the chamber said.
Bulgarian producers also support the creation of a national package for financing some measures, along with the possibility of national standards.” They also welcome the lessened restrictions on varietal designation and harvest requirements for table wines, though specified that certification and control were no less important.
A change in labelling regulations will allow EU wines without geographical origins to indicate variety and vintage on the label.
On a world scale, the European Union accounts for 45 per cent of wine-growing areas, 65 per cent of production, 57 per cent of global consumption and 70 per cent of exports. The December reform is described as budget neutral; it will enter into force on August 1 2008.
