Luxembourg, Oct 24 - Europe's farm chief attacked on Tuesday the EU's latest attempt to define the raw ingredients of vodka, warning that any deal that looked too restrictive ran the risk of sparking an international trade dispute.
EU experts have spent several years trying to nail down exactly what vodka should be made of, already stipulating that minimum alcoholic strength by volume will be 37.5 percent.
The European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, wants to allow the spirit drink to be made from any agricultural raw material provided its origin is clearly displayed on the bottle.
That view has gone down badly in Poland, which claims a centuries-long tradition of distilling vodka solely from grain and potatoes, as well as its "vodka belt" allies Finland, Sweden and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Last month, current EU president Finland tried to find some common ground between the two groups by presenting a compromise whereby vodka made from grain, potatoes and sugar beet molasses would not need to have its raw agricultural material labelled.
At the same time, vodka produced from any other agricultural material could continue to be called "vodka" but would have to have that material labelled on the bottle.
EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said such a narrow definition risked action at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The United States had "already indicated that it will resist any disproportionate labelling provisions", she said.
"As regards vodka, I have reservations at this stage, which are primarily of a legal nature. We must ensure that a definition of vodka does not run into trouble, either with EU law or in the context of the WTO," she told EU farm ministers.
"We have also had reactions from European industry and third countries suggesting that we would face litigation if we were to agree to such a definition," she said, inviting the ministers to a vodka "blind tasting" session back in Brussels.
Fischer Boel's tough stance was backed by countries such as Italy and Britain -- the EU's second-largest vodka producer after Poland, and keen to see cane sugar molasses included in the list of raw ingredients for manufacturing "pure" vodka.
"The definition of vodka has become a political issue," said Czech Agriculture Minister Milena Vicenova. "We have been happy with the current definition for 17 years and do not see any reason to change it," she said.
FRUIT SPIRITS?
But several countries agreed with the compromise deal presented by Finland, convincing the EU presidency that there was enough of a "broad general approach" among ministers for its middle-ground definition to be sent to the European Parliament.
The Parliament, which must agree to any changes in the draft regulation, will not debate the issue until at least December so no decision is likely until at least early 2007, if then.
Poland, the main driver behind limiting the definition of vodka to cereals and potatoes, said it could accept beet molasses being added to the list.
But it drew the line at allowing "non-traditional" raw materials being called vodka, saying such drinks should be called "fruit spirit" or "fruit-based spirit" drinks.
Its "vodka belt" allies broadly agreed.
"Latvia supports the view that vodka, like any other alcoholic spirit drink, has a specific origin ... raw materials for vodka should be clearly and strictly defined," Latvian Agriculture Minister Martins Roze said.