The proposals come as winegrowers risk being among the early victims of a bitter trade war between the EU and the United States, after President Donald Trump threatened 200 percent tariffs on European alcohol.
The sector is facing "a very difficult situation, particularly for red wine in certain regions of southern Europe", a senior EU official said.
The European Commission published a series of measures including addressing overproduction, support to tackle the negative impact of global warming and an EU-wide label for drinks with lower alcohol levels to meet growing demand.
The proposals would empower member states to take steps such as uprooting vines to prevent surplus production and extending permits for replanting from three to eight years to give producers more time to evaluate demand.
The measures also include providing support to tackle drought, extreme weather conditions and plant diseases hurting production.
Brussels wants to let the sector access more EU money to adapt vineyards to climate change, raising the ceiling on public assistance from 50 to 80 percent.
The EU also wants to give greater visibility to alcohol-free wines and "light" wines, with low alcohol content, with harmonised definitions across the 27 member states.
The commission says drinks containing up to 0.5 percent of alcohol can be labelled "alcohol-free wine".
"We can clearly see that wine consumption among young people is falling sharply and that there is a demand for alcohol-free or "light" wines. We want to facilitate the development of this market," the senior EU official said.
Brussels' "wine package" proposals still need approval from the European Parliament and EU member states and are set to come into force in late 2025 or early 2026.
"I am confident that our proposals will help stabilise the market and will enable the producers to seize new opportunities and respond to evolving consumer expectations," the EU's agriculture chief Christophe Hansen said in a statement.
France says China grants delay over cognac duties
Shanghai (AFP) Mar 28, 2025 -
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Friday China had agreed to postpone for three months the possible permanent application of additional customs duties on French cognacs.
"It's a first step towards settling this dispute," Barrot said on a visit to China.
"Before I arrived in Beijing, the industry was under a definitive application of the law following an (antidumping) investigation, the basis of which we dispute," he said.
"At the end of this visit, I can confirm that I was told at a very high level that this scenario would not happen, that the conclusions of this investigation would be postponed for three months."
Asked what could happen at the end of the three-month reprieve, the minister admitted that the outcome was still uncertain.
"This is a first step that will have to be followed by others so that we can put this dispute behind us once and for all," Barrot said, adding that after three months, the investigation would be closed.
"The Chinese authorities will make decisions based on the results of the investigation," he said.
"And we will obviously continue to mobilise in Paris and Beijing thanks to the work of our ambassador and all the stakeholders."
Since October, European exports of brandy to China have been hit with duties after the EU imposed tariffs of up to 35.3 percent on Chinese electric vehicles over claims of unfair competition.
The measure has been painful for French cognac makers, who rely on exports for 98 percent of their sales. Cognac makes up the vast majority of EU brandy exports to China.
The French cognac industry said in February it was losing 50 million euros ($54 million) per month since the imposition of antidumping duties by China, and appealed for government help.
On Friday, Barrot completed an Asian tour that took him to Singapore, Jakarta, Beijing and Shanghai.
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