The European Parliament saves wine: “There is a difference between harmful consumption and moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages, and it is not the consumption itself that constitutes a risk factor for cancer”. Therefore, the amendment, supported by Italy and France, to the anti-cancer action plan approved on Tuesday 15 February by the European Parliament passes.
The reference to health warnings on the label was also deleted from the text, and an invitation to improve the labeling of alcoholic beverages was introduced with the inclusion of information on moderate and responsible consumption of alcohol. But the bugbear of the black lights on the bottles, like the one that occurs today with cigarettes, has finally been averted.
The amendments filed by the MEPs of the “Ursula majority” Paolo De Castro (Pd, S&D), Herbert Dorfmann (Svp, Ppe), Pietro Fiocchi (Ecr-Fdl) and Iréne Tolleret (Renaissance, Renew) are therefore passed on as evidence of the dissent transversal emerged in Strasbourg on the EU anti-cancer plan relating to wine consumption. These amendments won the support of MEPs with 381 votes to 276, and 386 votes to 270.
The replacement of the reference to health warnings on the label with an invitation to provide information on moderate and responsible consumption of alcohol, passed with 392 votes against 251. A less strict wording was also approved regarding the ban on sponsorship of sporting events , while the amendment that changed the reference to the use of taxation among the options to discourage the harmful consumption of alcoholic beverages was rejected.
Coldiretti rejoices: «The European Parliament – reads a note – saves almost ten thousand years of wine history». In Italy, the sector is worth 12 billion in turnover, of which 7.1 billion in exports and directly or indirectly offers employment to 1.3 million people. “The attempt to demonize the consumption of wine and beer through health warnings on the label already adopted for cigarettes, the increase in taxation and exclusion from the promotional policies of the European Union has been rejected”, continues the note of the association.