APPENDIX 7
Memorandum from the European Confederation
of Spirits Producers
1. I have been working for 3 years as Secretary
General of CEPS, the European Confederation of Spirits Producers,
which is the representative body of the EU spirits industry. CEPS
members are 36 national spirits producers associations from the
15 EU Member States and the Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia, the
Slovak Republic and Switzerland as well as a group of internationally-leading
spirits producing companies.
2. The objectives of CEPS are:
— to promote and defend the interests
of its members;
— to promote a better understanding
of the contribution of the EU spirits industry in Europe;
— to encourage co-operation between
spirits producers achieving common aims.
3. In short, the common main aims are as
follows:
— to achieve better access to the industry's
more than 200 markets world wide;
— to eradicate market distortions which
are caused by the current tax systems applied in the EU Member
States and reduce tax discrimination against spirits by reducing
current levels of taxation of spirits, in particular where spirits
taxation is excessive;
— to protect the EU's generic and geographic
spirits denominations and maintain the excellent reputation of
EU spirits world wide, which is based on the highest level of
quality of traditional products;
— to promote sensible and moderate
consumption of alcoholic drinks and to combat and discourage alcohol
misuse in particular through industry self-regulation.
4. In order to achieve these aims, CEPS:
— has established a dialogue with the
various EU institutions, in particular the relevant services of
the European Commission, and international bodies such as the
WTO and the WHO. Our exchange of information with these institutions
and in particular with the European Commission is mutually advantageous.
Due to our constructive and timely input CEPS established a very
good reputation at the relevant services of the European Commission
and is accepted as a knowledgeable interlocutor. We receive excellent
support from the European Commission on the various issues of
concern to the EU spirits industry and in particular on trade
issues such as improved market access to third countries, which
are of major importance for the Scotch whisky industry;
— co-operates closely with other international
organisations in the alcoholic drinks sector (eg other EU associations
of alcoholic beverages and spirits producers organisations from
third countries) on matters of common concern and interest.
5. The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) plays
an extremely important role in the EU spirits sector as well as
in CEPS. For example, exports of EU spirits account to 4.5-5.0
billion Euro per year, of which Scotch Whisky generates about
2 billion Euro. The SWA contributes with human and financial resources
considerably to the work of our Confederation. Representatives
of the SWA act as Chairmen of Standing Committees as well as rapporteurs
on many issues of concern to the EU spirits industry, and thus
provide CEPS with much of the expertise, which is required for
our work. The SWA's constructive approach and search for compromise
on issues of diverging opinion is important for the functioning
of our Confederation. Scotch Whisky's international reach brings
weight to the EU negotiating position when the EU is seeking to
secure CEPS' objectives for satisfactory trading conditions for
EU spirits around the world.
6. The specific concerns and problems of
the Scotch Whisky industry are outlined in the SWA submission
to the House of Commons dated September 2000. They are well known
in our Confederation, and as far as they have an EU or an international
perspective CEPS does its utmost to solve these problems or at
least to support the SWA efforts to do so.
European Confederation of Spirits Producers
October 2000
|
