Ireland wants to slap health warnings on wine bottles, and Italy wants to slap Ireland in retaliation, claiming that the Irish action is aimed at Italy’s economy.
Originally submitted last June, Ireland’s plan would add warnings about drinking by pregnant women, and listing other health hazards connected with alcohol. The European Commission took no action on it, and Ireland is now free to proceed.
Objections have been posted by protests from Italy, Spain and six other EU member states, as well as by wine producers’ associations, but none has taken it as far as Italy, which labeled it as a “direct attack on Italy.” Coldiretti, Italy’s main agricultural lobby, said Italy “is the world’s leading producer and exporter with more than €14 billion in turnover, with over half coming from abroad.”
