Spirits: Our Role in Helping Sustain Europe’s Agriculture and Agri-food Sector

Spirit of Life Week 2026 #SpiritofLifeWeek Panel discussion in Brussels as part of the Spirit of Life Week Wednesday 9 September Spirits: Our Role in Helping Sustain Europe’s Agriculture and Agri-food Sector The session explored how spirits, rooted in European agriculture, contribute to sustainability from farm to bottle and to Europe’s export driven agri food sector. Commissioner Christophe Hansen’s written message was shared during the session, followed by responses from MEP Esther Herranz-García and spiritsEUROPE President Patrick Piana. A panel discussion featuring Gijs Schilthuis of DG AGRI considered the sector’s contribution and the steps needed to support its long term economic, social and environmental sustainability. Spirits producers from across Europe also discussed their farm to glass operations. Keynote Address: Christophe Hansen - Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Speakers: • MEP Esther Herranz-García - Co-Chair of the Wine & Spirits Intergroup • Patrick Piana - President spiritsEUROPE Panelists • Gijs Schilthuis - Director of Sustainability, DG AGRI, European Commission • Miroslaw Izdebski - General Manager of Belvedere Distillery • Max Potterton - Irish Farmer Association Farm to Glass Dialogue • Leonardo Vena - President of the spirits group at Federvini and CEO of Lucano1894 s.r.l. (Italy) • Paulo Mendes - Co-founder Vinha Alta Spirits (Portugal) • Manu De Cort - Master Distiller at De Cort Distilling Family (Belgium)