Vine cultivation and development over centuries are among the signatures of European civilization.
Whereas vine longevity requires the long-term management of planted areas – as opposed to any short-term logic;
Whereas the planting rights system is the central element of a quality policy that has proved its worth to all consumers, as evidenced by the sector considerable surplus in the European Union trade balance;
Whereas the planting rights system is likely to ensure that any new region can acquire a vineyard that can provide the essential quality structure;
Whereas the economic importance of collective structuring in order to smooth the balance between shortages and overproduction and maintain a sustainable wine-growing activity that provides innumerable related jobs;
In view of the conclusions of the scientific study carried out by Professor Etienne Montaigne and his team on “The socio-economic and territorial impacts of liberalisation of wine planting rights”, the political and professional representatives of the AREV in plenary session in Turin reaffirm, in accordance with all their resolutions adopted since 2006, their unanimous position on the need to control European production potential through a planting rights system.
Professionals in the sector need to focus as soon as possible on this crucial point for their future.
The AREV request that
• planting rights management remains the exclusive competence of the public authorities in each Member State – in close cooperation with the organisations in the sector – as the economic and social impact goes beyond the production and marketing of the wines. Their territorial and landscape impact is also a matter of regional spatial planning;
• planting rights rules apply to all EU Member States;
• planting rights system applies to all categories of wine: PDO, PGI, GIS.
Following the report by MEP Albert DESS on the future of the CAP, adopted by an overwhelming majority of the European Parliament, and the repeated demands of COPA-COGECA, EFOW and AREV, forwarded to date by 16 European Union agriculture ministers, the political and professional representatives of the 75 wine-growing regions of the AREV call on the European Commission to submit a legislative proposal as soon as possible to affirm the continuation and development of the system for regulating vine plantations.