Farm and Food Sovereignty Minister
Francesco Lollobrigida said Thursday he would give his Irish
counterpart a bottle of wine at an EU meet Monday to assure him
Italy has no intention of damaging his health amid Italian
resistance to proposed Irish health warnings on wine bottles.
Lollobrigida said he would be seeing Charlie McConalogue at an
Agrifish summit in Brussels and would "put to him our arguments,
confident we can find points of agreement and overcome our
differences".
Italy says it may refer the Irish plans to the World Trade
Organization saying health warnings on wine are excessive and
only the abuse of alcohol can cause liver disease and cancer,
while moderate tippling is good for you.
Lollobrigida said he would help McConalogue to understand
Italy's opposition to the labels "also by gifting him a bottle
of wine so that he can see we have no intention of harming his
health".
The health warnings on wine bottles proposed by Ireland amount
to an "unacceptable stigma" which Italy will combat in
consultation with other major producers like France and Spain,
Lollobrigida said.
Lollobrigida, grand-nephew of the late screen diva Gina, said he
would liaise with Health Minister Orazio Schillaci on how to
block the Irish labels.
"Our position is clear. Any labelling that envisages stigma on
the effects of wine on human health is unacceptable. We want to
re-etsblish the truth. The Irish measure is not justifiable by
any scientific evidence," said Lollobrigida, who has previously
noted the positive health effects of a moderate use of wine.
He said Rome would "open channels with France and Spain" on this
battle.
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