Ester Tuiksoo said Estonia was against recent proposals made by the European Commission to call all strong distilled alcoholic beverages vodka regardless of the base ingredient. For instance, alcoholic drinks distilled from grape or sugar cane could be also called as vodka under the commission's proposals.
Traditional vodka producers fear that sales of such drinks under the name of vodka may lead to financial losses.
Tuiksoo added that Estonia, which counts vodka as a major source of export revenue, was also against a new proposed division of alcoholic beverages into three categories depending on quality. According to the new idea, vodka would be included in the second category of spirits that may contain ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin and nature-identical flavoring.
