Brussels, 23 April 2021 – Following the presentation by Commissioner Dombrovskis of the European Commission’s communication on the EU Trade policy review, CEEV reiterates the EU wine companies’ priorities in terms of trade and encourages the EU to keep championing open and free trade as an essential part of the post-COVID-19 economic recovery.
CEEV welcomes the publication of the new trade strategy on 18th February, and the commitment of the Commission to an open, sustainable, and assertive trade policy in the next decade.
As representative of the EU’s top agri-foodstuff in terms of exports, CEEV reiterates the main trade priorities for the EU wine companies:
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- Keep championing open trade and find new markets for EU wines, as an essential part of the post-COVID-19 economic recovery.
- Secure trade relationship with key partners (i.a. relaunch the Transatlantic Partnership, enlarge the geographical scope of the trade strategy to include India and ASEAN economies).
- Set ambitious trade targets first, contribution to other EU policies’ objectives being ancillary to the trade purpose.
- Revitalize WTO.
- Create trade tools to compensate industries unfairly punished in unrelated WTO trade disputes.
- Promote EU and international OIV wine standards through trade agreements to strengthen the EU’s regulatory impact and enhance the competitive advantage for EU exporters.
- Ensure the effective removal of longstanding hurdles resulting from poor enforcement of commitments.
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About CEEV
Founded in 1960, Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins (CEEV – www.ceev.eu) represents the European Union wine companies in the industry and trade (still wines, aromatised wines, sparkling wines, liqueur wines and other vine products). It brings together 23 national organisations from 11 EU Member States, plus Switzerland, United Kingdom and Ukraine, as well as a consortium of 4 leading European wine companies. The companies represented by CEEV, mainly SMEs, produce and market the vast majority of quality European wines, both with and without a geographical indication, and account for over 90% of European wine exports.
Press Contacts
For any question, please contact Dr Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, CEEV Secretary General: isanchez@ceev.eu, +32 (0)476 88 36 75, @wine_ceev