The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environment, Andreas Gregoriou, conveyed Cyprus's support for the recommendations proposed by the European Commission for the wine sector during the meeting of the High-Level Group on Wine Policy, held on Monday in Brussels.

A press release issued today by the Ministry said the meeting approved the policy recommendations for the future of the EU wine sector with the unanimous agreement of all 27 member states. These recommendations were the result of input from the nine major European organisations active in the wine sector and feedback from the relevant national authorities in the member states.

The Group’s recommendations consist of a series of targeted policy actions to address the challenges facing the wine sector and focus on three key areas: aligning wine production with demand, boosting resilience to market and climate challenges, and adapting to trends to seize new market opportunities.

"The goal of the High-Level Group’s work is to address the contemporary challenges and issues facing the wine sector, such as the serious repercussions of climate change, the reduction in global consumption due to changes in consumer preferences, and other pressures arising from the unstable economic and geopolitical environment," the press release says.

In his intervention at the meeting, Gregoriou assured the commitment of Cyprus to strengthen the EU wine sector and supported the policy document, emphasising that it represents a constructive compromise of the positions expressed, taking into account the local intricacies of member states. He further noted that through focused and flexible implementation of what has been decided at the highest level, the progress sought in the EU wine sector can be achieved.

On his part, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christoph Hansen, referred to the importance of the EU wine sector for rural areas, tradition, history, and cultural heritage, stressing the need for immediate, medium-term, and long-term measures to support it.