Belgium is opposing an EU proposal to label wine with up to 6% alcohol as “low-alcohol” over concerns it is misleading and harms public health, according to the Belgian Ministry of Health.
Currently, wines with reduced alcohol content can be sold in the EU as wine if they have the label “partially de-alcoholised”.
As part of negotiations in the Council to revise regulations in the EU wine sector, Member States supported a proposal to change this term to “low-alcohol”, a change which Belgium opposes.
“It creates a false sense of safety and contributes to normalising alcohol consumption, particularly among people vulnerable to commercial narratives,” explained a statement by the Ministry last week.
The Belgian health authorities are raising the issue amid concerns of the larger health consequences of alcohol, which has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen and is linked to several diseases and mental health conditions.
While the new proposed label was suggested as a way to be more consumer-friendly, Belgium believes this does the opposite.
‘Dangerous precedent’
The Health Ministry argues that the proposed “low alcohol” for wines “misleads consumers” by “falsely suggesting a degree of safety” in alcohol consumption.
Belgium is further concerned with the regulatory precedent of the proposal, according to Jean Pottier, a Regulatory Expert at the Ministry of Health.
“There are no thresholds regarding what is considered as low…this is another reason we find this proposal very dangerous because it can set a precedent for calling something “low” when it is 6% alcohol,” Pottier told The Brussels Times.
Instead, the Belgian authorities are pushing for the term “reduced alcohol” to be used, as they consider it “accurate” and “clear” without “falsely implying that the product is low in alcohol.”
According to Pottier, “several Member States mentioned that they understood the points made by Belgium.” However, “low-alcohol” remained as part of a series of proposals for the industry.
Pushback from the sector
The Health Ministry’s position on the proposal was dismissed by the European Committee of Wine Companies (CEEV):
“We would understand the Ministry’s comments if the product were simply presented as a ‘low alcohol’ product, but the Ministry seems to forget a fundamental legal point: these terms accompany the term ‘wine,’” a CEEV spokesperson told The Brussels Times.
They added: “In this context and bearing in mind that consumers are well aware of the usual alcohol content of wines (the vast majority being between 11 and 14.5% vol.), we do not consider the term ‘low alcohol wine’ to be misleading.”
But Pottier does not see this as a "valid" argument, adding that just because alcohol content is clear, it should not be the consumer’s responsibility to determine if the item is indeed low in alcohol or just reduced.
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As it stands, the disputed terminology for wines up to 6% alcohol could still be amended.
The case is now in the hands of the European Parliament, where further discussions are set to take place in the coming weeks. A vote on the matter is scheduled for November 2025.
