(2004/C 33 E/202)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2013/03

by Robert Goebbels (PSE) to the Commission

(17 June 2003)

Subject:   Regulation on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

The European Court of Justice recently handed down what is, in my view, a questionable ruling that ‘maintaining the quality and reputation of Grana Padano'cheese and'Parma ham'justifies the rule that the product must be grated or sliced and packaged in the region of production’.

The extension of the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin to the packaging of products of this type is all the more debatable in that the cheeses and hams to be protected are frequently made from milk or pork not produced in the region but imported from abroad.

Does not the Commission take the view that Council Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 535/97 (1) of 17 March 1997 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 (2)) on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs needs to be adjusted so as to eliminate the abusive advantages introduced by the new case-law of the Court which, in the final analysis, constitutes an obstacle to the single market?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(7 August 2003)

The Commission considers that the Court of Justice's judgments of 20 May 2003 in cases C-108/01 and C-469/00 relating to the protected designations of origin Parma ham and Grana Padano respectively confirm the scope of the protection it had itself extended to these designations.

The Commission shares the Court's view that specification requirements that certain operations such as grating, slicing and packaging be carried out in the geographical production zone are in fact necessary for protection of the PDO in question.

It is true that such requirements are measures of equivalent effect to a quantitative restriction, prohibited under the principle of free circulation of goods laid down in the EC Treaty. But the PDOs as industrial and commercial property rights constitute one of the exceptions provided for in the Treaty and need to be protected against misuse by third parties wishing to profit from the reputation they and the associated trade marks have acquired.

In examining applications for registration the Commission is particularly careful to confirm that such provisions, if included in the specification, are shown to be necessary for protection of the name. This stops unfair advantages arising that are in fact a barrier to the free circulation of goods.

Contrary to what the Honourable Member appears to think the raw materials from which PDO Parma ham and Grana Padano are made must come from geographical zones that are precisely delimited in the specification and thus may not be imported from abroad.

Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 of 14 July 1992 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (3) was in fact amended in April 2003 by Council Regulation (EC) No 692/2003 of 8 April 2003 (4) in order to make it clear that specifications may include compelling reasons for restricting certain market preparation operations to the geographical zone of production. This amendment corresponds to the Court's interpretation and the Commission has no intention of proposing any adjustment of the Regulation.

(1)  OJ L 83, 25.3.1997, p. 3.

(2)  OJ L 208, 24.7.1992, p. 1.

(3)  OJ L 208, 24.7.1992.

(4)  OJ L 99, 17.4.2003.