FIGHT TO SAVE HISTORIC CIDER BRANDY 'NOT OVER YET'

12.00.00am GMT Thu 8th Nov 2007

The fight to save one of the region's oldest distilled drinks, cider brandy, which can be traced back to 1678, took a knock this week when a Parliamentary question from a local Euro MP received a disappointing response from the European Commission.

West Midlands region MEP Liz Lynne was alerted to the omission of the name of the historic drink in new EU legislation by a producer in her constituency and immediately raised the issue with Commissioner Marian Fischer Boel. The Commissioner replied saying the text had been amended, deleting cider brandy after objection to the term from members of the Council of Ministers (i.e. other national governments). Apparently no other Council member (including the UK government) spoke up in its favour.

Local MEP Liz said:

"I was naturally alarmed to hear that a drink of such international reputation and historical importance has been left out of this new legislation.

"Any forced name change would do untold financial damage to producers in Herefordshire, Somerset and Normandy, not only a loss of sales created by the name confusion, but also the re-labelling and marketing which would be necessary. It may also hurt associated business such as the Cider Museum itself in Hereford.

"It seems that there is little that can be done to stop the Council rubber-stamping this now. However, the UK government is apparently now looking into the issue. The Agriculture Secretary must raise this again in Council and we as MEPs must see if an amendment to the legislation is possible before the 15-month changeover period for producers runs out in early 2009."

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

On the 27th of September, Liz Lynne co-tabled the following Priority Written Question to the European Commission with Graham Watson (LibDem, South West & Gibraltar) and Dutch Liberal MEP Jules Maaten:

1. Is the Commission aware of the impact the current wording of proposal 2005/2006 (COD) on spirit drinks will have on producers of Cider Brandy, such as those in Somerset, Hereford and Normandy? Previous regulation on spirit drinks (1576/89) included reference to 'cider brandy', but the new wording omits this in place of 'cider spirit' (Section 10). It is of huge importance to the producers of Cider Brandy that its name remains the same. Cider Brandy dates back to 1678 and in 2007 has a worldwide reputation.

2. What steps can the Commission take to help producers of cider brandy stuck in this position?

Answer given by Ms Fischer Boel on behalf of the Commission (6.11.2007)

Council Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89 of 29 May 1989 laying down general rules on the definition, description and presentation of spirit drinks is inconsistent in the various language versions as regards the expression "cider brandy". It foresees the term "cider brandy" in the English version, but not in other versions such as French, Spanish and German. Therefore, in practical terms, labels of exported products needed to be adapted to the respective provisions applicable in the countries of destination in the EU.

The proposal for a Regulation of Parliament and of the Council on the definition, description, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks as adopted by the Commission on 15 December 2005[1] had foreseen the maintenance of the sales denomination "cider brandy".

The Council, in its amended text, deleted the term "cider brandy" in Annex II point 10 of the proposal. Following discussion and opposition by a number of delegations against the usage of "cider brandy", when asked, no delegation spoke in support of the term.

On 19 June 2007, after intensive discussion of the proposal in the appropriate committees and its plenary, Parliament adopted by a large majority in a first reading the General Approach on spirit drinks as presented by the Presidency. The question of "cider brandy" has not been raised in the preceding discussions.

The proposal is now awaiting final adoption by the Council, scheduled for November 2007.

According to Article 24(3), the Commission, in consultation with Member States, shall ensure the uniform application of the Regulation.

Products presently marketed as "cider brandy" may stay on the market with unchanged recipe but shall bear the sales denomination "cider spirit" after a transitional period of 15 months.

More information on the Hereford Cider Museum Trust can be found at: http://www.cidermuseum.co.uk