| Author (Corporate) | European Commission: DG Agriculture and Rural Development |
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| Series Details | COM (2022) 134 |
| Publication Date | 31/03/2022 |
| Content Type | News, Policy-making |
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Summary: Legislative initiative tabled by the European Commission on 31 March 2022, aiming to review the European Union's geographical indications (GIs) system for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products. Further information: Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 established a common framework for the organisation of agricultural markets in the EU, and it is also known as the CMO Regulation. Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 established EU-wide rules and conditions for the granting of an EU trade mark (EUTM). Regulation (EU) 2019/787 set out clear criteria for the definition, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks as well as for the protection of their geographical indications. Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 seeks to enhance the European Union's quality policy for agricultural products by increasing the coherence of various quality schemes, and it includes measures to support agricultural and processing activities, along with the farming systems associated with high-quality products. Geographical indications (GIs) identify products having qualities, characteristics or reputation due to natural and human factors linked to their place of origin. They are an intellectual property right (IPR) designed to promote fair competition amongst producers by preventing bad-faith uses of a name and fraudulent and deceptive practices. GIs guarantee authenticity to consumers and distinguish a product in the market securing higher-value sales and exports. While the EU's system of GIs is deemed sound, an assessment of the policy as well as the impact assessment process showed space for improvement. The traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG) scheme appears not to have delivered the expected benefits for producers and consumers. This draft law aims to strengthen the existing system of GIs as IPRs, and it also addresses the rules for TSGs, notably in clarifying their definition. The GI revision should pay particular attention to encouraging take-up in those Member States where the use of GIs is under-exploited. The proposed Regulation was tabled by the European Commission on 31 March 2022. |
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| Source Link | https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2022:134:FIN |
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| Subject Categories | Business and Industry, Geography, Internal Markets |
| Subject Tags | Agriculture, Consumer Rights | Protection, Food | Drinks, Intellectual Property |
| Keywords | Geographical Indications (GI), Labelling |
| International Organisations | European Union [EU] |
