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Spanish Wine Federation lodges complaint against Ireland
Wineries in Spain have railed against the Irish labelling rule for alcoholic beverages
The European Committee of Wine Companies (CEEV), which is run by the Spanish Wine Federation, has lodged a complaint with Brussels over the health warnings the Irish put on alcoholic beverages. The group has taken the matter before the European Commission, claiming this labelling damages the wine business and goes against EU law and the single market.“The provisions included in the Irish labelling regulation are inconsistent with the current EU legislation and constitute an unjustified and disproportionate barrier to trade. This regulation will fragment the single market of the EU, affecting its proper functioning and de facto hindering the access of products from other Member States to Ireland and thus generating a clear discrimination of imported products,” claimed Mauricio González-Gordón, president of CEEV.
He added that while the European winery sector fully supports the fight against alcohol abuse, that goal can still be achieved with less trade-restrictive measures than those employed by Ireland.
Furthermore, CEEV has accused the Irish of jumping the gun by including health and nutritional information on wine labels since the European Commission has previously announced its intention to legislate on this, creating an EU-wide mandate.
Lastly, the group has criticised the fact that Irish labelling makes no distinction between alcohol abuse and moderate wine consumption, and so is not providing accurate information to customers.
So far, 13 EU Member States, including Spain, have complained about Irish labelling to the EC and another eight non-EU countries have approached the World Trade Organisation about the matter.
“Following Ireland’s lack of reaction to the many concerns raised by governments and with the inexplicable neglect of the European Commission to act and defend the legislation and the single market, we are left with no choice but to make an official complaint to the EU to request that an infringement procedure be opened against Ireland,” explained Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, general secretary of the CEEV.
Image: Freepik
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