Responsible consumption, sustainability, countering neo-prohibition: the “spiritsEurope” Assembly

The promotion of responsible consumption, commitment to sustainability, actions to be taken to counter the rise of neo-prohibitionist policies, and collaboration with health authorities. These are the topics of the General Assembly of spiritsEurope, the European association representing 31 national associations and 11 multinational companies in the spirits sector, led by Ian McLernon, on stage, today at the Grand Hotel Palatino in Rome, with Federvini President Micaela Pallini speaking.
“We look with concern at a scenario increasingly characterized by unilateral regulatory measures, international trade tensions that weigh on the free movement of goods, risking compromising the competitiveness of production sectors such as spirits, which are very important for the European economy”, said Federvini President Micaela Pallini. “We look with concern at new forms of prohibitionism that instead of addressing the problem of abuse through prevention and consumer education, seek shortcuts in obligations, prohibitions and taxation, levers that are notoriously ineffective. The future presents many shadows, the risk of new tariffs is just around the corner”, Pallini adds, “we need to prevent our sector from once again becoming the recipient of retaliation that is unjustified to us, as has happened in the past. It is crucial to work actively with European diplomacy to avert possible trade disputes”.
The spiritsEurope Assembly hosted speeches by the Diplomatic Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Cesare Morbelli, and former EU Member of Parliament and former Minister of Agriculture, Paolo De Castro. Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso delivered a message of greeting in which he highlighted how the European spirits industry represents one of the most valuable agri-food export sectors, and which, through 44 product categories and 250 recognized Ig products, tells the world about the values and traditions of an entire continent.
As highlighted by data from the Federvini Observatory, presented by Nomisma at the Assembly, the Italian spirits sector today has as many as 578 companies that generate a turnover of 4.8 billion euros and a turnover of 1.7 billion euros in terms of exports (3% of the share of total food & beverage) directly employing more than 6,200 workers. A production, the Italian one, which is strongly export-oriented and has grown by 154% in the last ten years. The Italian spirits supply chain has 35 recognized Geographical Indication products that represent 14% of the total European GIs, demonstrating a strong link with the territories of reference (82% of food supplies come from local suppliers).
Special attention was devoted during the proceedings to the theme of promoting responsible consumption of alcoholic beverages, which sees Federvini’s component among the most active within spiritsEurope with the awareness project “No binge - Communicating responsible consumption” developed thanks to the involvement of the Italian academic world and which started in 2022 from the collaboration with the University la Sapienza of Rome, whose case studies were presented by Professor Alberto Mattiacci, and which then continued with the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli and the Department of Management of the University of Verona.