The General Assembly of spiritsEUROPE, the European association representing 31 national associations and 11 multinational companies, kicked off today in Rome. The annual event, this year hosted in Italy, opened with a greeting from Micaela Pallini , president of Federvini, the Confindustria federation of the wine, spirits and vinegar sector, as well as from the president of spiritsEUROPE Ian McLernon .

At the center of the work were themes such as the promotion of responsible consumption, the commitment to sustainability, the actions to be taken to counter the onset of neo-prohibitionist policies, and collaboration with the health authorities. Of particular relevance for this 2024 edition is the presentation of the impact study in collaboration with Nomisma on the economic and social contribution of the spirits industry in Italy.

“We observe with concern a scenario increasingly characterized by unilateral regulatory measures, by international trade tensions that weigh on the free movement of goods, risking compromising the competitiveness of production sectors such as spirits, which are very important for the European economy", he declares the president of Federvini Pallini , "we look with concern at new forms of prohibitionism which, instead of addressing the problem of abuse through prevention and consumer education, seek shortcuts in obligations, bans and taxation, levers which are notoriously ineffective".

“The future presents many shadows, the risk of new duties is around the corner", adds Pallini , "we must avoid our sector becoming the recipient of retaliation that is unjustified for us, as has already happened in the past. It is crucial to work actively with European diplomacy to avoid possible trade disputes.”

The spiritsEUROPE Assembly hosted speeches by the Diplomatic Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Cesare Morbelli and the Honorable Paolo De Castro . The Minister of Business and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso sent his greeting message in which he highlighted how the European spirits supply chain represents one of the most precious agri-food export sectors which, through 44 product categories and 250 recognized GI products , tells the world the values and traditions of an entire continent.

As highlighted by the data from the Federvini Observatory, presented by Nomisma during the Assembly (read EFA News ), the Italian spirits sector today has 578 companies that generate a turnover of 4.8 billion euros and a turnover of 1.7 billion euros in terms of exports (3% of the overall food & beverage share) directly employing over 6,200 workers. A production, the Italian one, strongly oriented towards exports which in the last ten years has marked a growth of 154%. The Italian spirits supply chain has 35 products with recognized Geographical Indication which represent 14% of the total European GIs, demonstrating a strong link with the reference territories (82% of food supplies come from local suppliers).

Particular attention was paid during the works to the theme of promoting the responsible consumption of alcoholic beverages, which sees the Federvini component among the most active within spiritsEUROPE with the awareness project No binge - Communicating responsible consumption developed thanks to the involvement of the Italian academic world and which began in 2022 with the collaboration with the Sapienza University of Rome, whose case studies were presented by Professor Alberto Mattiacci , and which then continued with the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli and with the Management Department of the University of Verona.