During its General Assembly meeting taking place yesterday, 17th March, in Brussels, CEEV – Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins elected a new Board of Administrator for a 3-year mandate. The new Board is composed as follows:

• President: Mauricio Gonzalez-Gordon (FEV – Federación Española del Vino, Spain)
• Vice-president: Domenico Zonin (UIV – Unione Italiana Vini, Italy)
• Vice-president: George T.D. Sandeman (ACIBEV – Associação de Vinhos e Espirituosas de Portugal)
• Treasurer: Jérôme Perchet (FFVA – Fédération Française des Vins d’Apéritif, France)
• Member of the Board: Cécile Duprez-Naudy (GLEVE – Groupe de Liaison des Entreprises Vinicoles Européennes)
• Member of the Board: Ettore Nicoletto (FEDERVINI – Federazione Italiana Industriali Produttori, Esportatori ed Importatori di Vini, Vini Spumanti, Aperitivi, Acquaviti, Liquori, Sciroppi, Aceti e Affini, Italy)
• Member of the Board: Michel Chapoutier (UMVIN – Union des Maisons et Marques de Vins, France)

Succeeding Jean-Marie Barillère, newly-elected CEEV President Mauricio González Gordon, Chairman of González Byass, said: «We are facing one of the most difficult moments in the last decades and I cannot escape my responsibility. I’m committed to the wine sector and, together with the CEEV team and membership, I will do all I can during my Presidency to go through these challenges successfully».

This General Assembly meeting was also the occasion for CEEV to welcome a new member and a new country among its ranks: the Austrian Federal Association of Agricultural Trade (Bundesgremium des Agrarhandels).

Part of the “Commerce” division of the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO), the Austrian Federal Association of Agricultural Trade represents all Austrian traders of agricultural products such as grain, seed and feed, fruit and vegetable, livestock and meat, wine and liquors. The Association counts over 2.000 member companies in the “wine and liquors” sub-sector, of which 1.696 wine makers and traders and 400 wine retailers.

Managing Director of the Austrian association of Agricultural Trade, Christoph Tamandl, said: «Austria has a longstanding and diverse wine tradition and industry. As the voice of the Austrian wine trade we are delighted to become a member of CEEV and to join our peers across Europe in contributing to forward-looking EU policies that benefit consumers, the wine sector and society at large».

«We are very pleased that the Austrian Federal Association of Agricultural Trade has decided to join CEEV. At the light of the challenges we are facing today, the EU wine sector should be more united than ever and speak with a single voice», said Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, Secretary General of CEEV.

«I thank Jean-Marie Barillère for his outstanding service as President of CEEV over the past nine years. Looking at the future, with this reinforced membership and under the leadership of Mauricio González Gordon, we stand ready», he added.

While celebrating this new chapter in the life of our association, our deepest thoughts are also with our Ukrainian member association, UKRVINPROM, and the whole Ukrainian people, for the tragedy they are currently going through. With our 10-year long collaboration in mind, we hope to have UKRVINPROM representatives back around the table soon.