EU wine policy package

Scope and objectives

On 20 May 2025, the EESC will hold a public hearing in connection with its ongoing opinion on the EU wine policy package. The package aims to support the EU wine industry which must now adapt to evolving economic, social and environmental challenges in order to remain competitive and sustainable.
 

During the event, the stakeholders will discuss the industry'srole in the EU’s agri-food sector, which is helping to mitigate rural depopulation by providing stable jobs and sustaining benefits for businesses and local communities, while also contributing to the preservation of European cultural heritage and landscapes.

In particular, the public hearing will seek to collect stakeholders' views on the European Commission's legislative proposal touching upon:

• production and demand side alignment via managing wine production potential and addressing structural over-supply and proposing measures to tackle the issue;
• resilience enhancements to market and climate challenges,inter alia by combating unfair trading practices, investing in climate change adaptation, and providing financial flexibility within national support programmes;
• how to adapt to changing consumer preferences and exploit new market opportunities by promoting innovative products like de-alcoholised wines, facilitating direct sales from producers to consumers, fostering wine-based tourism etc.

The event will be webstreamed freely on this website and interpreted into EN and FR. The hearing will be held online, for a very limited physical participation, please contact us using the address below.

Context

The European Union is the leading global producer of wine. From 2020 to 2025, the average annual production was recorded at 157 million hectoliters. In 2023, it accounted for 44% of global wine-growing areas, over 60% of production, and 48% of consumption. The wine sector is the third largest in terms of exports within the EU's agri-food industry, with 7.3% of the agri-food export value in 2024.

The EU wine industry faces challenges including ongoing demographic developments, changing consumption patterns, climate issues and market uncertainties, and should respond in order to keep up with the competition and to ensure sustainable production.

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