Lollobrigida to work with Tajani against Irish wine labels

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 22 - Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Minister Francesco Lollobrigida said Monday he would work closely with Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to combat Irish wine health warnings which became law on Monday.
    Speaking after Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly signed into law the tobacco-style labels warning of liver and cancer risks from wine, beer and spirits, Lollobrigida said "the stigma creates a distortion of the market" which was against EU law.
    "We will work together with my colleague Tajani, with whom we have been talking in these hours, to understand how to act to combat Ireland's choice," said Lollobrigida.
    Italy's stance against the labels has already elicited support from other big wine-making countries like France and Spain.
    Lollobrigida said in fact, "we will (act) together with the other European nations, such as France and Spain, who have subscribed a document of strong criticism with us".
    The first example of its kind in Europe, the new Irish law lays down that labels on alcoholic products indicate the calorie content and the grammes of alcohol in the product and contain warnings on the risk of consuming alcohol during pregnancy and on the risk of diseases of the liver and deadly tumours due to the consumption of alcohol. (ANSA).