BOTTLES OF SPIRITS WILL BE UP TO 50 CENTS CHEAPER AFTER MINISTERS RIP UP CRAZY BRUXELLES REGULATIONS.
A minor EU regulation on labeling and wrapping corks in foil is one of 4,000 that will be repealed as a result of Brexit.
The change is expected to save between 10 and 50 pence per bottle of sparkling wine produced.
All sparkling wine bottles must be “sheathed in foil completely covering the stopper and all or part of the neck,” according to Article 57(1)(a) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33.
The European Parliament even admitted in 2020 that “the foil has no other functional characteristics and is usually removed and thrown away immediately prior to the consumption of the wine.”
The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs will also scrap requirements for wine labels.
Reams of European Union red tape will be “sunsetted” by the end of this year under the Retained EU Law Bill unless ministers choose to keep them in British law.
Then-Brexit minister Jacob Rees-Mogg announced plans for a bureaucratic bonfire, urging Sun readers to report any absurd laws.
At Cabinet on Tuesday, PM Rishi Sunak told ministers a leaner “regulatory environment in the UK will be crucial to accelerating our economic recovery and driving growth, innovation, and competitiveness”.
“We welcome the removal of outdated and unnecessary regulation when it comes to the production, bottling, and labeling of wine,” said Miles Beale, Chief Executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association. By removing the requirement that the neck of a bottle of sparkling wine is wrapped in foil, wine producers can choose to reduce costs and packaging waste, which is beneficial to both consumers and the environment.”
