Pac Post 2020, “The Wine sector” has written to Centinaio: “Accept our proposals in the EU”

The path towards Pac Post 2020, crucial for European agriculture, and for viniculture as well, has begun. Possible cuts to the EU budget for the sector are definitely in the spotlight, and every supply chain is also looking at its own uniqueness. And so Italian wine decided to write a joint letter signed by the agricultural and farmers’ organizations, Confagricoltura, Cia-Agricoltori, Alliance of Cooperatives, and the various wine associations and confederations, Unione Italiana Vini, Federvini, Federdoc and Assoenologi, to the Minister of Agriculture and Tourism Gian Marco Centinaio, asking him to accept their proposals to improve the PAC system and to represent these needs to the Commissioner for Agriculture, Phil Hogan and also to the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The organizations wrote together to underline the fact that, “requests Italy has made for changes to the OCM Regulations have, up to today, received no response”.

According to the petitioners, special attention must be placed on the changes related to the provisions governing the system of authorizations for viniculture facilities. And, actually, some initial signs of flexibility have been recognized in the draft the Directorate General for Agriculture has proposed. It is, however, considered insufficient to be able to guarantee the prospects of growth of the size of Italian companies in a context that shows the tendency of Italian vineyards as declining, and which is certainly not favored by the current regime.

The proposals the organizations presented to the Ministry of Agriculture outline the establishment of a national reserve of authorizations to avoid the loss of potential viniculture, and the recovery of expiring planting rights and further, unused authorizations to be given to more dynamic businesses. This would increase the average business area, an essential element for world competition.

The Wine Supply Chain concludes the letter underlining that the growth of Italian wineries is a strategic element for our country as well as for the European Union, which needs to make a specific commitment to accept the requested improvements that will provide greater flexibility and functioning of Community rules.