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With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for champagne and sparkling wine producers.
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If you are one of the 15 800 producers of champagne in the Champagne region of France or a producer of sparkling wine in another EU country, such as Spain or Italy, you are perhaps concerned about the sector’s development. So is the European Union and it is working to secure the sector’s long-term viability.
As a wine producer, you can receive financial support from the EU for loss of revenue resulting from restructuring. This can also be used to cover vineyard conversion, for instance to introduce new varieties, relocate or improve vineyard management techniques.
Wine producers can also get support for measures to promote EU wines under the geographical indications (GI) scheme, which identifies EU country products whose quality can be attributed to a particular geographical origin. Under this scheme, the EU can contribute up to 50 % of the cost of participating in international fairs, or conducting information campaigns and carrying out studies of new market outlets.
The EU can also help protect products recognised under the GI scheme at international level. To do this it ensures that the products remain protected in the various multilateral trade negotiations with the World Trade Organisation, in particular through the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. In addition, it also seeks to achieve high levels of protection for GI products in bilateral trade agreements negotiated or under negotiation with non-EU countries such as Canada, China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
Further information
- Presentation of the Champagne region and wine, https://www.champagne.fr/fr/economie/chiffres-clef
- European Commission website on Geographic indications, http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/accessing-markets/intellectual-property/geographical-indications/
- European Court of auditors, Report on investment and promotion support to the wine sector, https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/SR14_09/QJAB14005ENC.pdf
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