An event last week in the European Parliament organised by Italian right-wing MEP Alessandra Mussolini – granddaughter of the former fascist leader – saw an outpouring of frustration from several politicians and producers who believe, according to one attendee, that Italian wine is “under attack”.

Independent MEP Mick Wallace got himself into hot water at a similar event recently, when he backed Italian producers while claiming to own three wine bars in Dublin that went undeclared on his parliamentary register. He later rowed back on his statement about owning the bars, saying he was a paid adviser to the owners, but had to amend his European declaration of interests to reflect that.

The World Health Organisation insists that no amount of alcohol is safe, publishing a statement in scientific journal The Lancet earlier this year stating that alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer. The UN body cited a study finding that half of all alcohol-attributable cancers in Europe are caused by “light” and “moderate” alcohol consumption.

Italy has been the most vocal opponent of Ireland’s plans, with deputy prime minister Antonio Tajani weighing in earlier this year to call the move “absurd”.

Ireland was given the green light by the European Commission in December after a six-month consultation process.

Department of Health officials were surprised at the decision, given 13 EU countries – including major wine-exporters France, Spain and Italy – raised objections. Most EU countries feel Ireland should wait until the Commission comes forward with plans for bloc-wide warning labels, which it has pledged to do this year.

Ireland’s labelling plan – part of the 2018 Public Health (Alcohol) Act, which has already brought in minimum unit pricing – is now being examined by a WTO committee to see if it amounts to a “technical barrier to trade”, a probe that is due to finish in exactly one month’s time.

After their defeat in Brussels, Europe’s wine makers are hoping large WTO members like the US will help to sound the alarm in Geneva.

The US, Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand and Mexico raised objections about the Irish law back in 2019, after it was first adopted.

Italy is the world’s second-largest wine exporter, after France, with exports reaching a record €8bn last year. Ireland imported €40m worth of Italian wine in 2020.

France is Ireland’s biggest supplier, with sales of both wine and spirits to Ireland worth €100m last year, according to France’s federation of wine and spirit exporters (FEVS).

“If Ireland is not a very large market for [an exporter] they will start to ask themselves whether the Irish requirements amount to a disproportionate blow [to their business]”, said FEVS delegate-general Nicolas Ozanam.

“It may not be worth their while. And that means less choice for Irish consumers.”

EU producers fear the Irish move could embolden other countries to go their own way as well. They also worry that Ireland could become a model for future EU labels.

“If I was Machiavelli, I would say this is part of a plan,” said Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, head of EU wine producers organisation CEEV. “That the European Commission is using Ireland to advance in a direction that it would otherwise have been difficult to go.

“Once the Irish label is in place, it will mean the debate will start considering it as a valid and proportionate solution.”

The new labels, as drafted by the Department of Health, link alcohol with “fatal cancers”. They also feature warnings about liver disease, drinking during pregnancy, new alcohol content measurements and a link to a healthy drinking website.

Drinks Ireland, the Ibec group representing the industry, said the move will hurt Ireland’s €2bn drinks export market, limit consumer choice and hit the country’s smaller importers the hardest.

“Many imported brands will simply disappear,” Drinks Ireland said in a statement. “As well as our breweries and distilleries, it will negatively impact small wine sellers, particularly those that sell specialist brands which may become extinct from this market.”

The Department of Health said Minister Stephen Donnelly can’t consider signing the labelling regulation into law until the WTO process is complete in May.

For French producers, that would be a literal and symbolic blow to the single market, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

“Ireland has a strong voice in Europe – for better or for worse – but that also means it has a responsibility to preserve the political construct that is the single market,” Mr Ozanam said.

“I find it regrettable that Ireland has called that into question, given how profitable the single market has been for Ireland, as it has been for every EU member state.”