Always read the label

Europe took a step closer towards resolving the "vodka war" on June 19, when EU parliamentarians agreed to a compromise deal on what the spirit may be made from.

The row over the definition of vodka has split the EU between the "vodka belt," a group of northern European countries led by top producer Poland, and other states where the beverage is made from a wide array of agricultural materials such as fruit and molasses. The former group argued that grain and potatoes should be the only ingredients used in real vodkas. Other vodka-producing countries asserted that this was tantamount to protectionism in an industry that is worth $12 (zł.33.96) billion a year worldwide.

EU lawmakers now have voted for a compromise allowing non-traditional producers to continue to call their product vodka, so long as they prominently display the raw material on the label. "What all parties wanted was taken into account," said German Conservative MEP Horst Schnellhardt. "Vodka produced from sugar, grapes ... must be labelled and the origin given. It's an excellent solution and we're not riding roughshod over tradition."

Despite this compromise, the argument may not be over yet. The European Commission is obliged to notify the EU's major trading partners at the World Trade Organization of the planned change in labelling practice. Only if the WTO has no objections will EU agriculture ministers then debate and vote on the issue.

"This is a battle of the vodka belt against the wine belt. And in between lies the beer belt, which will get to decide," said Finnish Socialist MEP Lasse Lehtinen. (Reuters)