(1)

Regulation (EU) 2019/787 repealed and replaced Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2). Chapter III of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 lays down rules on geographical indications in the spirit drinks sector and empowers the Commission to adopt delegated and implementing acts in that respect. In order to ensure the smooth functioning of the market of spirit drinks in the new legal framework and in particular to simplify and rationalise the functioning of geographical indications system for spirit drinks, certain rules have to be adopted by means of such acts. In particular, this Regulation and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1236 (3) should replace part of the provisions of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2013 (4), which should therefore be repealed.

(2)

In order to facilitate the Commission’s scrutiny and to provide full information to the parties concerned in the opposition procedure, where the product specification includes specific requirements on packaging, the single document included in the application for registration of a geographical indication should contain a summary of the justification showing why the packaging must take place in the defined geographical area to safeguard quality, ensure the origin or ensure control of the spirit drink.

(3)

For the sake of consistency of the procedure and in order to facilitate the Commission’s scrutiny, a Member State should guarantee that the single document is a faithful summary of the product specification on which the Commission may rely when assessing the application and on which other Member States and stakeholders may rely for the purposes of enforcement of the geographical indication. For the same reasons, the publication reference of the product specification included in the application dossier submitted to the Commission by the Member States should consist of the electronic reference to the product specification as published according to the Member State’s administrative system.

(4)

The information to be submitted in order for an application for protection, an application for approval of a Union amendment or a request for cancellation to be deemed admissible should be set out in order to facilitate the management of such applications or requests and to speed up their examination.

(5)

In order to overcome temporary difficulties and to ensure that all producers comply with the product specifications in the long term, Member States should be allowed to grant producers transitional periods up to 10 years to adapt to the changes of certain rules on the product specification.

(6)

The Commission is responsible for the approval of Union amendments to the product specification, while standard amendments are approved by the Member States or by the responsible person or body in a third country. For the efficiency of the procedure, when an application for approval of a Union amendment also contains standard amendments, standard amendments should be deemed as not existing and should not be considered as approved in the context of the Union amendment.

(7)

The procedure for the approval of standard amendments and temporary amendments should be established to allow Member States to carry out an appropriate assessment of the applications and to guarantee a consistent approach across Member States. The accuracy and exhaustiveness of the assessment by the Member States should be equivalent to the accuracy and exhaustiveness required for the assessment process within the procedure governing applications for registration of a geographical indication.

(8)

It is necessary to lay down rules to establish coordination between the procedures for amendments to a product specification in cases where applications concerning a Union amendment and a standard amendment are pending at the same time before the Commission and the Member State’s competent authority, respectively. Since both applications amend the same product specification, while following two different parallel procedures having a different timing, rules should be laid down that avoid inconsistencies.

(9)

The rules on the procedure for cancellation of the registration of a geographical indication should be supplemented to clarify that Member States are among the legal persons that may have a legitimate interest in submitting a request for cancellation under the first subparagraph of Article 32(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 and to specify the exact references to the Official Journal of the European Union where the publication is made.

(10)

To ensure transparency and uniformity across Member States, it is necessary to establish the electronic register of geographical indications of spirit drinks referred to in Article 33 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 (‘the register’) and to adopt further rules on the content and the form of the register. In particular, since the documents available, and to be made available, for each registered name differ depending on the legal basis under which they were first protected, the requirements for those documents should be adapted accordingly. In order to allow priority dates concerning other intellectual property rights to be determined, the register should indicate the date of an application for registration and the date and publication reference of the instrument protecting the geographical indication. The register should be an electronic database managed within digital systems made available by the Commission, and should be accessible to the public,

(1)

Regulation (EU) 2019/787 repealed and replaced Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2). Chapter III of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 lays down rules on geographical indications in the spirit drinks sector and empowers the Commission to adopt delegated and implementing acts in that respect. In order to ensure the smooth functioning of the market of spirit drinks in the new legal framework and in particular to simplify and rationalise the functioning of geographical indications system for spirit drinks, certain rules have to be adopted by means of such acts. Those acts should replace part of the provisions of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2013 (3), which is repealed by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1235 (4).

(2)

Regulation (EU) 2019/787 allows several groups from different Member States or third countries to submit a joint application for the registration of geographical indications of spirit drinks. In the interest of clarity, additional rules on the submission of such joint applications concerning more than one national territory should be laid down.

(3)

In order to ensure that uniform and efficient procedures are in place, rules should be laid down on the required information and forms for submitting applications for registration, applications for approval of Union amendments to a product specification and communications of approved standard and temporary amendments, notices and reasoned statements of opposition, notifications of end of consultation following an opposition procedure and requests for cancellation of a registration.

(4)

The geographical area of geographical indications for which protection is sought should be described in the product specification in a detailed, precise and unequivocal way that enables producers, competent authorities and control bodies to operate on certain, conclusive and reliable bases. Furthermore, the single document should contain a concise summary of the geographical area.

(5)

The interests of third parties in a Member State should be protected in case substantial changes to the product specifications submitted with the application are made following the Commission’s observations in the context of the scrutiny carried out under Article 30(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787. Such changes should be adequately published at Member State level to enable natural or legal persons having legitimate interest to submit an opposition.

(6)

For the sake of legal certainty and efficient management of the system, detailed rules concerning requirements and deadlines for the opposition procedure, applications for the approval of Union amendments, communications of approved standard or temporary amendments and cancellation requests should be provided.

(7)

In accordance with Article 27(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 the Commission is to share a notice of opposition that has been submitted against an application for registration of a geographical indication or an application for approval of a Union amendment or against a cancellation request, with the authority, body or person that submitted the application or request. For reasons of transparency and for the economy of the procedure, that notice should include the name and contact details of the opponent. The applicant would be able to start immediately informal consultation with the potential opponent possibly clarifying the issue before the opponent sends the reasoned statement of opposition.

(8)

Where a notice of opposition is followed by an admissible reasoned statement of opposition, the Commission is to provide the authority, body or person that submitted the notice of opposition and the authority, body or person that submitted the application for registration or amendment or the cancellation request with their respective contact details, in order to allow the two parties to engage in appropriate consultations in accordance with Article 27(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787.

(9)

The name of the applicant submitting an application for approval of a Union amendment or the name of a natural or legal person making a cancellation request in accordance with Articles 31 or 32 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 respectively, is to be published in order to identify the persons who have activated the procedure of amendment or cancellation and to allow potential opponents to challenge their legitimate interest.

(10)

The publication in the Official Journal of the European Union of approved standard and temporary amendments is necessary to make that amendment public and applicable in the territory of the Union in accordance with the new system of competences for amendments referred to in Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787. The publication of an approved standard amendment referring to a geographical indication originating in a third country which has been notified by a natural or legal person may contain personal data in order to identify the person responsible for transmitting such an amendment.

(11)

Existing rules on the reproduction of the Union symbol for protected geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs as set out in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 668/2014 (5) should be replicated to enable consumers to recognise spirit drinks bearing a protected geographical indication.

(12)

The added value of a geographical indication is based on consumer trust. The scheme is only credible if it is accompanied by effective verification, control and auditing which includes a system of checks at all stages of production, processing and distribution, managed by the competent authorities designated by Member States in accordance with Article 43(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 in conjunction with Article 38(2) of that Regulation. For the optimal functioning of the single market, it is important that producers may quickly and easily demonstrate in several contexts that they are authorised to use the protected name, such as in controls by customs officers, market inspections or on demand by trade operators. The system set out by the Member States should also guarantee that producers complying with the rules are entitled to be covered by the verification of compliance of the product specification.

(13)

Rules and forms should be established in respect of a proof of certification of spirit drinks bearing a geographical indication relating to a geographical area in a third country.

(14)

In the interest of effective administrative management and taking account of the experience acquired through the information systems put in place by the Commission, communications between the Member States and the Commission should be simplified and the information should be exchanged in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1183 (6) and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1185 (7).

(15)

The Commission has put in place the information system ‘e-Ambrosia’ for the management of the applications for protection of geographical indications in food, wine, spirit drinks and aromatised wines. Member States and the Commission should continue to use that system in respect of spirit drinks for the purpose of communication concerning the procedures related to applications for registration and for the approval of amendments to the product specification. However, owing to a strict system of accreditation, that system should not be used for communications with Member States concerning the procedure for oppositions and cancellation requests and, pending the requisite digital security guarantees, it should not be used for communications with third countries. Instead, for the procedures for oppositions and cancellation requests, Member States, the competent authorities and producers of third countries, as well as natural or legal persons who have a legitimate interest under Regulation (EU) 2019/787 should communicate with the Commission via electronic mail.

(16)

The manner in which the Commission makes the information concerning geographical indications in the spirit drinks sector accessible to the public should be defined.

(17)

The procedures for registration, amendments to the product specification and cancellation of the registration in respect of geographical indications of spirit drinks originating in the Union and the procedures concerning the controls, pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/787, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1235 and this Regulation are carried out by the Commission and the Member States. The Commission and the Member States are responsible for distinct stages of each type of procedure. Member States are responsible for the first stage, which consists of receiving the application from the producer group, assessing it, including running a national opposition procedure, and, following the results of the assessment, submitting the application to the Commission. The Commission is responsible for scrutinising the applications, including running a worldwide opposition procedure, and taking a decision on granting the protection to the geographical indication. The Commission also carries out the corresponding procedures for geographical indications originating in third countries.

(18)

With a view to minimising the exposure of personal data, the documents to be submitted in the course of the relevant procedures should as far as possible avoid requirements for submission of personal data. Nonetheless, the Commission and the Member States may need to process information that contain personal data such as personal names and contact details. In duly justified cases, such data may need to be disclosed or made public.

(19)

Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8) applies to the processing of personal data carried out by the Commission in the course of those procedures. It is appropriate to clarify that the Commission is to be considered controller within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 in relation to the processing of personal data in the procedures for which it is responsible under Regulation (EU) 2019/787.

(20)

Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9) applies to the processing of personal data carried out by Member States in the course of the relevant procedures. Therefore, it is appropriate to clarify that the competent authorities of the Member States are to be considered controllers within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 in relation to the processing of personal data in the procedures for which they are responsible under Regulation (EU) 2019/787.

(21)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Spirit Drinks,

(1)

Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 (2) constitutes an important exemption from the general rule that Member States have to notify any plans to grant new aid to the Commission before implementing them, provided that certain pre-defined conditions have been fulfilled.

(2)

In view of the economic and financial consequences that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on undertakings and in order to ensure consistency with the general policy response adopted by the Commission, especially in the period 2020-2021, Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 should be adapted. Undertakings which became undertakings in difficulty as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic should remain eligible for aid under Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 for a limited period, namely from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021. In addition, beneficiaries of regional investment aid, which have temporarily or permanently laid off staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the period from 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2021, should not be considered to have breached the obligation to maintain those jobs in the area concerned for a period of five years from the date the post was first filled, or three years in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”).

(3)

State aid granted to undertakings participating in European Innovation Partnership for agricultural productivity and sustainability (“EIP”) Operational Group projects covered by Article 35 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3), or in community-led local development (“CLLD”) projects covered by Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) or by Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) has little impact on competition, in particular, in view of the positive role the aid plays for sharing knowledge, especially for local and farming communities, as well as the often collective nature of the aid, and its relatively small scale. The nature of these projects is integrated, multi-actor and multi-sector, which can lead to certain difficulties for their classification under State aid law. Given the local nature of individual EIP Operational Group and CLLD projects, selected on the basis of a multi-annual local development strategy determined and implemented by public-private partnership and their orientation to community, social, environmental and climate interest, this Regulation should address certain difficulties faced by EIP Operational Group and CLLD projects in order to facilitate their compliance with State aid rules.

(4)

Given the limited effect on trade and competition of small amounts of aid granted to SMEs benefitting, directly or indirectly, from EIP Operational Group and CLLD projects, simple rules for cases where the aggregate amount of aid per project does not exceed a certain ceiling should be laid down.

(5)

Undertakings participating in European Territorial Cooperation (‘ETC’) projects covered by Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) or by Regulation (EU) 2021/1059 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7) often experience difficulties in financing additional costs stemming from the cooperation between partners located in different regions and in different Member States or third countries. Given the importance of ETC for the cohesion policy, providing a framework for the implementation of joint actions and policy exchanges between national, regional and local actors from different Member States or third countries, certain difficulties faced by ETC projects should be addressed in order to facilitate their compliance with State aid rules. In the light of the Commission’s experience, Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 should apply to aid for ETC projects, irrespective of the size of the beneficiary undertakings.

(6)

In addition, given the limited effect on trade and competition of small amounts of aid granted to undertakings participating in ETC projects, in particular, where those undertakings receive that aid indirectly, simple rules for cases where the aggregate amount of aid per undertaking per project does not exceed a certain ceiling should be laid down.

(7)

Research and development projects or feasibility studies awarded a Seal of Excellence quality label following an evaluation and ranking carried out by independent experts, which are regarded as excellent and worthy of receiving public funding, but cannot be funded under the Horizon Framework Programme due to lack of available budget, may be supported by national resources including resources from the European Structural and Investment Funds for the period 2014-2020, and from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund+ for the period 2021-2027. State aid granted to such research and development projects which are carried out by SMEs should be considered compatible with the internal market and be exempted from the notification requirement under certain conditions. In addition, it should not be necessary to reassess eligibility conditions already assessed at Union level in accordance with the Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe Framework programme rules prior to the awarding of the Seal of Excellence label. The profit or non-profit character of the entities carrying out the projects is not a relevant criterion under competition law.

(8)

State aid granted to support the deployment of certain performant fixed broadband networks and State aid granted to support the deployment of certain performant passive mobile networks should be considered compatible with the internal market and be exempted from the notification requirement under certain conditions, in order to help bridge the digital divide in market failure areas, while limiting risks of distorting competition and crowding out private investment.

(9)

State aid granted in the form of connectivity vouchers for consumers in order to facilitate teleworking, online education and training services as well as for SMEs should be considered compatible with the internal market and be exempted from the notification requirement under certain conditions, in order to help bridge the digital divide in market failure areas, while limiting risks of distorting competition and crowding out private investment.

(10)

State aid granted to certain projects of common interest in the area of trans-European digital connectivity infrastructures financed under Regulation (EU) 2021/1153 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8) or awarded a Seal of Excellence quality label under that Regulation should be considered compatible with the internal market and be exempted from the notification requirement under certain conditions, in order to help bridge the digital divide in market failure areas, while limiting risks of distorting the competition and crowding out private investment.

(11)

Grants provided to researchers under the European Research Council (‘ERC’) Proof of Concept and under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (‘MSCA’) that qualify as economic activities should also be considered compatible with the internal market when they benefit from a Seal of Excellence quality label.

(12)

Combined public funding from national resources and resources directly managed by the Union for research and development projects (such as those implemented under a European institutionalised Partnership based on Article 185 or Article 187 of the Treaty or programme co-fund action as defined in the Horizon Europe Framework programme) can contribute to improving the competitiveness of European research and development, as such research and development projects are considered to meet objectives of common European interest and address well-defined market failures. This is considered to be the case where such projects are selected on the basis of the evaluation and ranking made by independent experts in line with Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe Framework Programme rules, following trans-national calls, where at least three Member States (two Member States in the case of Teaming actions), or alternatively two Member States and at least one associated country, participate. The financial contributions made by Member States, including resources from the European Structural and Investment Funds for the period 2014-2020, and from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund+ for the period 2021-2027, to those co-funded research and development projects should be considered compatible with the internal market and be exempted from the notification requirement under certain conditions. In addition, it should not be necessary to reassess eligibility conditions already assessed at trans-national level in accordance with Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe programme rules by independent experts prior to a research and development project’s selection.

(13)

The Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe Framework programmes define which research and innovation actions are eligible for funding. In this regard, research and innovation action, as defined under the Horizon Framework Programme, will normally correspond to fundamental research and industrial research activities, as defined in Regulation (EU) No 651/2014. Moreover, innovation action supported under the Horizon Framework Programme will normally correspond to the definition of experimental development activities under Regulation (EU) No 651/2014. The simplifications provided for in this Regulation in the area of research and development should, however, not be used to introduce aid measures that finance activities that are not eligible under State aid rules for research and development, that is to say, activities going beyond the scope of experimental development activities. To this effect, the definitions regarding Technological Readiness Level (‘TRL’) may also be taken into account by the Member States. State aid for research and development activities at TRL 9 level is considered to go beyond the scope of the definition of experimental development and should consequently be excluded from the scope of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014.

(14)

Support for energy efficiency measures in certain buildings can be combined, under the InvestEU Fund and subject to simplified conditions, with support for the on-site production of renewable energy and its storage, for on-site charging points for vehicles and for the digitalisation of these buildings. This combined support under simplified conditions is possible for residential buildings, buildings dedicated to the provision of education or social services, buildings dedicated to activities related to public administration or to justice, police or fire-fighting services, and buildings in which economic activities occupy less than 35 % of the internal floor area. Given the nature of the activities taking place in such buildings, support to improve the energy performance of such buildings has a more limited impact on competition. To ensure a consistent treatment of projects financed with the InvestEU Fund and with purely national resources, it is appropriate to amend the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 concerning investment aid for energy efficiency measures and to introduce compatibility conditions for facilitating the combination under the same project of investments in energy efficiency measures with investments improving the energy performance of the building (that is to say, integrated on-site installations generating renewable energy, on-site equipment for the charging of electric vehicles of the building’s users), and investments for the digitalisation of the building, in particular to increase its smart readiness. To that end, the entire investment cost of the energy efficiency measure and the various pieces of equipment should constitute the eligible costs while a uniform maximum aid intensity would apply.

(15)

To ensure a consistent treatment between projects financed with the support of the InvestEU Fund and with purely national resources, it is appropriate to amend Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 by introducing compatibility conditions for investment aid for certain types of low emission mobility infrastructure for road vehicles. Investment aid for publicly accessible recharging or refuelling infrastructure for road vehicles should be considered compatible with the internal market and be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty in so far as it allows for an increased level of environmental protection and does not unduly distort competition. As regards refuelling infrastructure, in the absence of a harmonised definition of low-carbon hydrogen, only investment aid for refuelling infrastructure supplying road vehicles with renewable hydrogen should be covered by the block exemption. The Commission will consider extending the scope of the relevant provisions to also include low-carbon hydrogen once a harmonised definition is adopted. In addition, for both recharging and refuelling infrastructure certain safeguards should be in place to limit distortions of competition. The compatibility conditions should, in particular, ensure that support generates additional investments and addresses market failures or sub-optimal investment situations, that the development of the market is not hindered by support and, in particular, that there is open and non-discriminatory access to the infrastructure. In addition, investment aid for recharging or refuelling infrastructure should be granted on the basis of a competitive bidding process to ensure proportionality and minimise distortions on the infrastructure market. Finally, to stimulate effective competition, aid granted to the same beneficiary under each measure should be capped.

(16)

Financial products supported by the InvestEU Fund may involve funds controlled by Member States, including Union shared management funds, contributions stemming from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, or other contributions by Member States, in order to increase leverage and support additional investments in the Union. For instance, Member States have the possibility of contributing a part of Union shared management funds or Recovery and Resilience Facility resources to the Member State compartment of the EU guarantee under the InvestEU Fund. Moreover, Member States could finance the financial products backed by the InvestEU Fund through their own funds or national promotional banks. Such financing may qualify as ‘State resources’ and may be imputable to the State if the Member States have discretion as to the use of those resources. Conversely, when Member States have no discretion as to the use of the resources or act in line with normal market conditions, the use of those funds may not constitute State aid.

(17)

Where national funds, including Union shared management funds, constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) of the Treaty, a set of conditions should be set out on the basis of which the aid could be considered compatible with the internal market and be exempted from the notification requirement in order to facilitate the implementation of the InvestEU Fund.

(18)

The design of the InvestEU Fund incorporates a number of important competition safeguards, such as supporting investments which deliver Union policy objectives and Union added value and the requirement for the InvestEU Fund to be additional and address market failures and sub-optimal investment situations. Moreover, the governance system and decision-making process will ensure, before issuing the EU guarantee, that the InvestEU supported operations meet the above requirements. Finally, the support provided by the InvestEU Fund will be transparent and its effects will be evaluated. Therefore, State aid involved in the financial products supported by the InvestEU Fund should be considered compatible with the internal market and be exempted from the notification requirement based on a limited set of conditions.

(19)

Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 should therefore be amended accordingly,