Lollobrigida says Italy will resist Irish wine health warnings

(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 8 - Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Minister Francesco Lollobrigida said Wednesday that Italy will resist in all shapes and forms Irish health warnings on wine which he said have split Europe and allegedly breach common trade treaties.
    Ireland on Tuesday informed the World Trade Organization of the new warning labels on bottles of wine, beer and spirits alerting consumers to possible liver damage and links to certain forms of cancer with excessive use.
    Italy has made common cause with France, Spain and six other big wine producing countries against the new labels.
    "We will activate all forms of resistance with respect to a measure that divides Europe and we are transmitting to our colleagues who have signed a document with us, from Spain and France, and from 6 other countries, the letter written yesterday by (Foreign) Minister (Antonio) Tajani to (European Trade) Commissioner (Valdis) Dombrovskis in which (Tajani) denounces "that in our opinion it is a violation of the treaties on common trade", Lollobrigida said on the sidelines of the 9th Economic Conference of the Cia-Agricoltori Italiani farmers' group in Rome.
    The new Irish health warning labels risk hurting the EU, Tajani said in his letter to Trade Commissioner and Commission Vice President Dombrovskis Tuesday.
    Tajani said the labels "risk being a source of distortion of international trade, equivalent to a quantitative restriction".
    He said the Irish move, as well as being open to criticism under EU law, "could trigger a chain reaction that would end up damaging the whole of he Union".
    Italy has said it will appeal to the World Trade Organization against the warnings.
    Italian officials have stressed that wine is good for you when drunk in moderation and Lollobrigida has said he will propose mediation on labelling to include the positive effects of moderate wine drinking.
    Ireland on Tuesday notified the WTO of its new labelling policy.
    (ANSA).