The Assembly,
Having noted, with keen appreciation, Resolution 59 (1) of the Committee of Ministers authorising the convening of a committee of governmental experts to prepare a draft European Convention on the production and marketing of vine products and spirits ;
Considering the importance of the production and marketing of these products to the economies of Europe ;
Noting that legislative diversity and administrative complications hamper the expansion of trade ;
Believing that the first essays in the harmonisation of European legislation should be concentrated on special sectors and aim at establishing comparable standards for products whose definitions are essentially similar ;
Convinced that close collaboration in the sector of alcoholic drinks can easily and must be attained and that such collaboration would greatly facilitate trade, bring about a rapid improvement in quality and, by putting down fraud, enable the consumption of drinks harmful to health to be avoided ;
Believing that all action in this field, owing to its economic, political and social importance, should be planned in agreement with those concerned and that the enterprise shown in various quarters by the trade merits co-ordination and encouragement ;
Recalling that the international associations have repeatedly requested the appointment of a particularly representative and qualified personality to be responsible for liaison between the Governments and those concerned and to give the necessary impetus to the proposed draft convention, while safeguarding legitimate national interests,
Recommends that the Committee of Ministers appoint, for a period of five years, a leading European personality who could :
guide and inspire the experts in their work of drawing up a Convention to harmonise legislation on alcoholised and fermented drinks ;
co-ordinate international action by the trade organisations concerned ;
make approaches to Member Governments with a view to developing high-quality products, putting down fraud such as may endanger the economy of the member countries and avoiding the use of substances harmful to health.