FIVI to Minister Lollobrigida: priorities for the wine system

President Lorenzo Cesconi writes to the newly elected Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty to set out the actions considered priorities by Independent Winegrowers: at the center are the energy crisis, the European single market, excessive bureaucracy, and the criteria for representation in the Protection Consortia.

The Italian Federation of Independent Winemakers launches a new appeal for the protection of small producers, with a letter sent to the new Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Francesco Lollobrigida. There are several issues that FIVI urgently brings to the government's attention: the energy crisis and actions to counter it; bureaucratic simplification for both commercial exports and administrative requirements; and finally, the criteria for representation in the Protection Consortia.

First topic presented and very topical, that of the energy crisis and the impact on the production and commercial chains of the wine system. For FIVI, it is necessary, on the one hand, to reshape support policies both at the national and European level in order to ensure continuity of production and, on the other hand, to elaborate a long-term strategy of energy independence based above all on the development of renewables.

Another hot topic, that of bureaucratic simplification for exports through the adoption of the One Stop Shop system, i.e., the establishment of a one-stop shop for excise duty clearance, which is already in place for the payment of VAT on certain categories of products, in order to strengthen the free marketing of goods and allow both small producers and European consumers to take full advantage of the opportunities of the single market. Discouraged by the administrative and fiscal complexities, many winemakers are in fact giving up expanding into new markets: a one-stop shop would allow them to look out for new business opportunities on a sure path to growth.

Related to this theme is that of bureaucratic simplification and digitalization at all levels. FIVI intends to emphasize the need to implement a real digital system, taking advantage of the possibilities that technology offers today, in order to really make the bureaucratic burdens of wineries less burdensome: to date, unfortunately, digitization processes have paradoxically led to more burdens, also due to poor or nonexistent communication between different bodies of the public administration, which then requires wineries to send the same data to different entities several times.

Finally, the fourth issue concerns the representation of small producers within the Consorzi di tutela: voting criteria currently favor large groups and social cooperatives, due to an overly broad interpretation of "weighted voting" and to an often problematic use of proxies. FIVI therefore calls for an intervention in Legislative Decree No. 232/2018, in particular in Article 8 on voting methods, to strengthen the effective representation of all actors in the supply chain. Vignaioli represent a model that directs its production towards the highest quality, in full respect and complete expression of the territory, and it is necessary that in all Consortia their equal dignity is recognized.

FIVI closes its letter with an invitation to Minister Francesco Lollobrigida to attend the Federation's Assembly, which will take place on Monday, November 28, in Piacenza, during the 11th edition of the Independent Winemakers' Wine Market.

Source: FIVI Press Office