A3-0070/94

Resolution on the development and future of wine sector policy

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the Commission communication to the Council (COM(93)0380 - C3-0298/93),

-having regard to its resolution of 17 December 1993 on the activities of the body of specific officials of the Commission for controls in the wine sector,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development (A3-0070/94),

A.whereas the reform of the CAP must be comprehensive and coherent and its underlying principles must be extended to sectors such as wine which have hitherto been excluded; whereas, in this light, measures are necessary to regulate production and support producers' income alongside price policy; whereas future policy must be pursued within a fair frame of reference, i.e. based on a reliable data-gathering system, as there might otherwise be a risk that the measures concerned would prove ineffective,

B.whereas measures aimed at discouraging production such as distillation at low prices and the promotion of grubbing up have not enabled a market balance to be achieved; whereas, moreover, the continued fall in market prices, incentives to restrict yields and the cut in institutional prices proposed by the Commission have not been selective and have prevented the formulation of a policy which rewards quality, since it has been impossible to compensate producers for their efforts in this direction,

C.whereas there are some regions which have a strong natural vocation for wine growing and in which traditional cultivation of vineyards has made wine growing an integral part of the economy and the lifestyle; whereas action needs to be taken in those regions to prevent wine growing from coming to an end, bearing in mind the serious economic, social, desertification and land-use planning problems which this would pose,

D.whereas although its dietary importance has declined over the years, wine is nevertheless an agricultural product associated with a Europe-wide tradition dating back thousands of years and has an essential role to play from the cultural, economic, and gastronomical point of view,

E.whereas the aims of regional programmes must be consistent with the Community COM and will accordingly need to be directed towards containing wine production, reducing yields, and improving quality,

F.whereas wine production needs to be cut back substantially in order to be brought into balance with consumption; whereas the above goal must be attained by reducing yields, continuing the policy of grubbing up, and discouraging oenological practices that enable substandard products to be offered on the market,

G.whereas the market in wine-based alcohol for oral consumption is a traditional outlet for Community wine-growing and notably for vineyards devoted principally to the distillation of spirits, and it must not be considered a distillation outlet for wine surpluses,

H.whereas the rules governing production and wine-making processes need to be redefined with a view to providing more effective means of promoting quality and stability on the market,

I.whereas all Community producers must be accorded equal treatment under the same conditions,

J.whereas it does not appear realistic to divide the Community into just two wine-growing areas according to minimum alcoholic strength and the option of enrichment,

K.whereas the practice of indiscriminate enrichment has served to create surpluses and allowed low-quality products to be brought on to the market,

L.whereas quality cannot be guaranteed at the production and processing stages unless the cost of enrichment is increased,

M.whereas the growing pressure on international markets (GATT negotiations, growth in imports from new producer countries, etc.) may lead to a drop in Community exports while at the same time increasing competition from imports from third countries, and this, combined with trends towards lower consumption, may lead to even larger surpluses,

N.whereas the tax treatment of wine differs from one Member State to another, and in some Member States, the level of duties and taxes gives rise to significantly higher retail prices which discourage consumption; whereas, at all events, it is contradictory for the wine sector to be supported from EAGGF funds at Community level while sales are taxed at an exorbitant rate at national level; whereas this situation also has the effect of distorting competition in the internal market and should therefore be remedied,

O.whereas the fall in consumption is due in part to adverse publicity and a lack of proper information and whereas, therefore, campaigns should be launched at all levels with the aim of enlightening the public and promoting wine, laying emphasis also on the quality and characteristic features of the different products; whereas it would be desirable for the Commission to draw up a programme which could subsequently be adapted by the regions to promote modest consumption of and enhance the status of wine as a product forming part of the cultural and gastronomic tradition of Europe's regions,

P.whereas it is necessary both to regulate and to strengthen the inter-branch relationships involved in controlling yields, monitoring compliance with the rules, and pursuing measures to enhance the status of wine,

Q.whereas problems have to be tackled within the sector as a whole; whereas the entire sector must be made more cohesive; whereas the sector needs to be briefed more fully at each successive stage from production to marketing; and whereas promotion, research, and communication activities should be pursued, ensuring that the sector does not become more fragmented,

I.General considerations and funding

1.Welcomes the Commission's intention to embark on a comprehensive reform aimed at simplification and rationalization with a view to bringing stability to the market by the end of the decade; nevertheless expresses doubts regarding the effectiveness of the measures to restore balance in the sector proposed by the Commission in its discussion paper and fears that the lack of harmonization and the perpetuation of exceptional arrangements will lead to ever wider disparities between producer regions and transfer responsibility for securing producers' income and the burden of meeting the cost of structural surpluses to the Member States, which would constitute discrimination vis-à-vis other agricultural sectors;

2.Believes that structural, income-support and intervention measures aimed at eliminating surpluses should be financed to the same extent from the Community budget as is the case for other agricultural sectors following the reform of the CAP;

3.Believes, bearing in mind that reform of the COM will entail restructuring of the entire wine sector in some regions, that the necessary provision must be made in the budget to support it;

II.Regulation of production: regional plans and grubbing up

4.Welcomes the fact that a policy is to be launched to bring about orderly adjustment of wine-growing potential under multiannual regional programmes, which can perform an important role in preserving the natural landscape and the stability of the environment and in regulating production in accordance with structural measures and with a view to restoring balance to the market; calls, therefore, on the Commission and the proper authorities in the Member States and the various regions to do their utmost to cooperate in order to ensure in practice that the different measures laid down in the plans are consistent with the needs of the sector in the Community as a whole; considers also that the regional plans could encompass activities eligible for financial contributions not only from the EAGGF, but also from the other Structural Funds;

5.Considers that the regional plans should lay down maximum yields per area for all wines (table wines and quality wines produced in specified regions) and establish mechanisms for identifying and controlling vineyards which exceed these maximum amounts; believes that producers responsible for excess yields should be excluded from the Community aid scheme in proportion to their percentage excess;

6.Considers it appropriate that grubbing up should be part of regional programmes, which may help to mitigate the harmful environmental consequences and destruction of the wine sector resulting from isolated decisions on grubbing up; is nevertheless not optimistic regarding reafforestation, given the small size of many holdings and the fact that the dryness of some regions makes forestry impossible, and therefore considers that, in order to avoid the disastrous consequences of abandonment of the land, other alternatives should be envisaged such as harvesting before ripening, which eliminates production and preserves vegetation, and, at all events, ensuring that such land is covered by the system of compensatory payments for arable crops;

7.Considers it essential, in order to prevent inconsistent policies being implemented on the different administrative tiers of the COM, that the regions which implement the programmes falling within their sphere of responsibility, aiming at and achieving notable results in terms of reducing wine-growing capacity and yields and improving quality, should be entitled to benefit from a partial cut in the cost of compulsory distillation;

8.Requests that, when production capacity is allocated, the prevailing social and economic situation, suitability for high-quality production, and the lack of alternatives should be taken into account;

III.Income aid

9.Believes that the income-aid scheme should be selective and should reward producers with the lowest yields and whose agricultural practices are compatible with the environment, as well as those in essentially wine-growing areas without alternative production; considers that a commitment not to use artificial enrichment to increase alcoholic strength or the fact of reducing yields per hectare might be taken into account as parameters for increasing aid;

IV.Distillation

10.Considers that, until the range of new measures to restructure the sector begins to have an effect, distillation continues to provide the main means of market intervention and support and that price and quantity restrictions should therefore be introduced gradually, in parallel with the success achieved by the remaining measures in restoring balance in the sector;

11.Considers it correct that all wines (table wines and quality wines psr) should be included in the wine supply balance and distillation obligations; considers, further, that standard minimum criteria need to be drawn up for their classification, such as the determination of production zones according to objective criteria, the definition of areas, the definition of varieties and cultivation and oenological practices, the laying-down of maximum yields and strengthened controls;

12.Considers it advisable to maintain preventive distillation as an incentive for producers to submit their poorer-quality surpluses at the beginning of the wine year, at a starting price of at least 70% of the guide price, which may be reduced in line with improved market balance in subsequent years; considers that it should be possible for quantities submitted for such distillation to be deducted from the quantities for compulsory distillation;

13.Believes that when laying down absolute values for national reference production volumes, for the purposes of enforcing the distillation system, account should be taken of the average regional productivity rates recorded in each Member State, the possible unavailability of any alternative crops, and national consumption of spirits distilled from wine, so as to ensure that penalties are spread in a fairer and more even-handed way;

14.Considers it important not to underestimate the existence of a market for alcohol for oral consumption in the manufacture of spirits, brandies, dessert wines, aromatized wines, etc. which might be supplied from distillation; in this light, recognizes the need to support that subsector either by granting aid for distillation contracts with users of this type of alcohol or, at all events, making provision for the quantities concerned to be deducted from the compulsory distillation quota;

15.Considers that it would be advisable to increase the distillation obligation for by-products to 15% and to make provision for it to be extended to cover all wines, laying down a sufficiently remunerative price for deliveries of this type;

V.Oenological practices

16.Affirms that the current saturation of the market and quality production make it necessary to regard enrichment as a process which may exceptionally be required to offset adverse natural and climatic circumstances rather than standard practice as a basis for producing extremely high yields; considers that the minimum natural alcoholic strength should therefore be increased to 7 or 8% according to the region and maximum enrichment levels set at no more than 1.5 and 2% vol;

17.Calls for at least three wine-growing zones to be established for the purposes of enrichment and minimum alcoholic strength;

18.Believes that the current state of technology makes it possible to obtain improved concentrated must in crystal form which is organoleptically neutral and can be used in measured quantities and which is therefore technically suitable as a sucrose substitute; considers, therefore, that in areas whose natural and climatic conditions may make enrichment necessary such enrichment should, in the medium term, be carried out exclusively with improved concentrated must, which would provide a means by which the sector could itself reabsorb some of its surplus;

19.Believes that, in addition to the maximum limits on enhancing natural alcoholic strength, chaptalization should be made subject to further rules such as a restriction on the maximum quantity of sugar which may be used per hectare;

20.Considers that, to guarantee transparency vis-à-vis consumers and protect their rights, the bottle label should state whether or not the wine has been enriched with sucrose or improved or concentrated must;

VI.Aid for the production of must

21.Considers that, while enrichment with sucrose continues to be carried out in the Community and so as to ensure that the different enrichment methods are neutral in cost terms, aid for the production of concentrated must should be maintained, since it also helps to reduce surpluses; believes, further, that such aid will remain necessary for a transitional period in order to enable technologies to be perfected and a market created for the product;

VII.The alcohol subsector

22.Expresses its concern at the fact that the problem of structural surpluses is being transferred to the alcohol sector and urges the Commission to submit proposals for that sector's rationalization, establishing a clear separation between the market in industrial alcohols and the market in alcoholic beverages;

VIII.Marketing of wine and measures to enhance its status

23.Calls on the Commission to devise mechanisms to safeguard Community preference and ensure that imported wine complies with the same marketing requirements as are laid down for Community production;

24.Highlights the importance of harmonizing international rules on the definition of wine and vine products and of rules protecting registered designations;

25.Believes that the Commission should draw up a programme at Community level which could subsequently be adapted by the various regions to promote and enhance the status of wine, which is a key element in Europe's particular cultural and gastronomic tradition and a prime example of its civilization and which, consumed in moderation, has many beneficial effects on health; considers, further, that the promotion of vine products in general must not be neglected and that an additional opportunity to exploit can be found in diversification of supply with a view to providing such new products as might be called for in the light of new market trends;

26.Considers it necessary to take a dynamic approach to the market and launch a genuine wine-promotion policy with the participation of public institutions and trade associations; believes, in this light, that it would be useful to create a budget line for Community aid aimed at setting up a fund for studies and research into market trends and purchasing and consumption patterns and identifying the possibilities for each type of product; points, further, to the soundness of the Commission's idea of creating a budget line for aid for research and the technical training of wine growers and oenologists;

27.Considers also that the Commission should fund the promotion of European wines outside Community territory;

28.Calls on the Commission, when sending a legislative proposal to Parliament, also to submit a forecast on the impact that the GATT accords will have on the sector;

IX.Inter-branch relationships

29.Points to the desirability of regulating and strengthening inter-branch relationships given their potential with regard to participating in market structuring, helping to guarantee that rules are applied, cooperating in controls and contributing to transparency in the sector, as well as in promotion campaigns;

X.Controls

30.Stresses that, in order to guarantee the success of the reform and to ensure that wine-sector regulations are enforced in a consistent way, it is essential for controls to be placed on a systematic basis by setting up a central Community arbitration laboratory and strengthening the Community's body of control officers so that, equipped with the necessary human and material resources, they will be able to work together with national and regional authorities, carrying out operations related to inspection and the suppression and punishment of fraud; calls, further, for an operative viticultural land register to be introduced and for the change in the areas under vines to be monitored by means of aerial photographic surveying;

31.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council.