Ireland has postponed its health warning labeling until 2028. CEEV's positive comment

Following months of debates, amid opposing positions and appeals to various international and European trade bodies, the Irish Government has decided to postpone the infamous Irish health warning labeling for all alcoholic beverages, scheduled to go into effect in May 2026, for at least a couple of years, to 2028. The European Committee of Companies (Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins-CEEV), led by Marzia Varvaglione, welcomed the news, emphasizing that “this delay signals an important opportunity to realign regulation efforts with EU law and principles of the single market”.This news also comes just when the United Kingdom (which has left the EU) has been witnessing the government’s proposals of labels on alcohol similar to those on tobacco products. “Postponing the Irish alcohol labeling regulations until 2028 is absolutely good news for wineries”, Marzia Varvaglione, president of CEEV said. “Introducing a unilateral and disproportionate health warning on all alcoholic beverages sold in Ireland would have imposed considerable costs and administrative burdens, especially for small and medium-sized wine producers, while undermining the integrity of the single market and the EU legal framework. Public health objectives must be pursued in a legally sound and coordinated manner. Fragmentation only leads to confusion for consumers and unnecessary costs for producers”, she added. The Irish regulation, CEEV said, has faced strong criticism from several EU member states, third Countries, and stakeholders in the wine sector, and beyond. CEEV had formally objected to the measure two years ago in a complaint filed with the European Commission, arguing that the National rule was contrary to the EU legal framework. The organization is now once again calling for it. The Commission must take decisive action to uphold the integrity of European Union law.
“There was something wrong with the Irish measure from the outset. It raised serious doubts about justifiability, proportionality, and compatibility within EU law”, said Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, Secretary of the CEEV. “Postponing the measure must become more than a simple delay. It is a much-needed opportunity to rethink how to guarantee that consumers are well-informed, and at the same time safeguard the legal and economic coherence of the European market. Wine producers and consumers deserve balanced, evidence-based rules that are consistently applied across the European Union”, Sánchez Recarte emphasized. The CEEV also “stressed that clear and harmonized labeling rules are essential to maintaining the competitiveness of the European wine sector in a more and more uncertain global trading environment”.