European Commission sets out the continent’s first soil law

Amid intense opposition to proposed laws on nature restoration and curbs on pesticides, the European Commission put forward proposals [the continent’s first soil law] in Brussels last week to revive degraded soils. Research indicates that this could help absorb carbon from the atmosphere and ensure sustainable food production.

The new law would see Member States monitor the health of soils, fertilizer use and erosion, but stops short of country-level targets for improving soil quality. This drew criticism from the European agri-food industry, which called for more ambition to improve the “worrying” state of soils.

The EU estimates at least 61% of the bloc’s soil is unhealthy, driven by factors including degradation of peatlands and intensive fertilizer use.

EU environment commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevičius states:

“If our soils continue to degrade, the biggest risk is to our food security and farmers. Basically, their business model is wiped out,” he said. “I can hardly imagine how we could do agriculture without fertile soils. The worst effects of droughts and floods can be avoided with healthier soils.”

The new law would not have legally binding targets, although “We are opening the way to additional income opportunities for farmers and landowners through a voluntary certification scheme for soil health and strong synergies with carbon farming and payments for ecosystem services,” Sinkevičius states.

One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B), the main representative of the European agri-food industry in Brussels, said the proposals did not go far enough. “The EU needs to go further to tackle the trend of deteriorating soil health in Europe,” said director Stefania Avanzini.

The European Commission is calling on Member States and the European Parliament to raise the ambition of the proposal. “We very much value the importance the commission gives to agriculture and its central role in the management of soil,” Avanzini said.

 

France pours more aid as wine sector faces ‘Major Difficulties’

This week the government of France stepped up financial support for wine growers faced with a deep drop in demand after lockdowns closed restaurants and bars and U.S. tariffs curbed exports.

“The state will increase to 250 million euros its support plan to wine growing and we will request this aid to be distributed as quickly as possible because cash needs are pressing,” French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Wednesday.

Castex made the announcement during a visit to the Menetou-Salon and Sancerre vineyards in the Loire region.

“The international situation, the health crisis, a drop in exports: our wine sector faces major difficulties. State support must continue and intensify,” Castex said on Twitter earlier.

France has already provided some support, but the wine industry has called for more action.

In April, the European Commission decided to support crisis management measures in wine and other agriculture sectors affected by the coronavirus crisis.

In May, France cleared a 140 million euro ($165.87 million)crisis mechanism to distill surplus wine into industrial alcohol to be used to produce hand sanitizers.

Then in June, the government unveiled an additional 30 million euros of support for the wine industry, including 15 million for the launch of a private storage scheme for two million hectolitres of surplus wine, an alternative to distilling.

In addition to the impact of COVID-19, France’s wine industry has suffered from U.S tariffs on imports imposed as part of the trade dispute between the European Union and the United States over aircraft subsidies.

Source:  Reuters

 

The European Commission publishes harmonized oenological practices authorized in the EU

The European Commission published December 5 2019, in all EU languages, the detailed files of the International Organisation of the Vine and Wine code of oenological practices.

The oenological practices are defined, their objectives highlighted, as well as their conditions of use and the types of wines to which they apply. They include various types of fermentation and ways to acidify or de-acidify wine.

The European Commission stated that the object was to make the regulations “easier to read and to understand”, allowing winemakers to quickly comprehend the practices that are authorized in the EU.

The guidelines were the “last step” in the process of aligning EU wine legislation to the Lisbon Treaty. They simplify the requirements necessary to make wine for sale in the EU while increasing the consistency between both the EU permitted oenological practices and the international code of approved procedures published by the OIV.

The June update amended the regulations surrounding the presentation and labeling of wine, authorizations for vine planting, checks to avoid fraud in the wine industry, vineyard registers, and documents needed to accompany imports and exports.

The European Commission’s new 63-page document lists common winemaking procedures, giving their definition, objectives and permitted EU prescriptions.

The document covers topics including carbonic maceration, use of sulfites, controlled oxygenation, tirage, acidification and de-acidification, fining and filtering procedures, and stabilization and pasteurization techniques.

 

 

The English version of the document can be viewed here:

 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:C:2019:409:FULL&from=EN

Volume 62 English Edition Information and Notices
5 December 2019