Stopping subsidies?

Broad alliance for wine in Brussels

The future of the wine industry is the subject of heated debate in Brussels.

(Bild: canva)

Will winegrowers soon be banned from advertising their fine wines? Will public funds no longer be made available? On Burgenland's initiative, regions such as Bordeaux, Piedmont, Rioja and Rhineland-Palatinate are moving closer together in the service of the good cause.

Unimaginable for true connoisseurs of fine wines: similar to tobacco, a lobby in Brussels is mobilizing against wine. If the anti-vinophile tacticians have their way, advertising and public funding could soon no longer be permitted. "A horror scenario for our winegrowers! Simply unthinkable", a murmur goes through the industry.

Burgenland is taking the initiative in Brussels to raise the profile and importance of wine at European level. Winegrower Andreas Liegenfeld and Wein-Burgenland chairman Herbert Oschep "felt their way" to Belgium's capital a few weeks ago.

Dorner and Oschep want to safeguard the wine industry.

(Bild: Büro LR)

Economic and health aspects
Now the SPÖ regional councillor responsible for the Committee of the Regions (CoR), Heinrich Dorner, is following suit. He has brought the formation of a CoR interregional group on viticulture and wine culture into play. "Initial talks have been very positive," says Dorner. Not only the economy is a core topic in the program, but also health. "It's about responsible use of a natural product that brings pleasure and well-being in different situations. And it's about the conscious enjoyment and cultivation of wine culture," emphasizes the Provincial Councillor.

In this context, the long-term prospects of wine as a cultural asset in Europe must also be defined. Other questions that need to be discussed arise for Dorner: "How can the wine industry, which consists of more than 90 percent small and medium-sized enterprises, survive on the EU internal market and internationally?" "How can EU legislation provide support?"

The Burgenland initiative has met with a positive response from the President of the European Committee of the Regions, Vasco Alves Cordeiro - including top wine-growing regions such as Bordeaux, Piedmont, Rioja and Rhineland-Palatinate: "Everyone has the same interests."