Agenzie

The second round of negotiations between the Council of the EU and the European Parliament on the reform of the rules for protecting agricultural geographical indications (Gls) will take place on 18 July. Parliament's rapporteur, Paolo De Castro (S&D, Italian), hopes that a compromise will be found "during the first half of October" so that the whole dossier can be wrapped up by the end of 2023.

Luis Planas, the acting President of the Agriculture Council, indicated on 27 June that he hoped for a political agreement between the two institutions during autumn on the proposal concerning agricultural GIs (see EUROPE B13211A26).

An objective that seems achievable, given that the positions of Parliament and the EU Council are not that far apart.

A first trilogue of discussions between them took place on 6 June. Two further trilogues have been announced for 18 July and 27 September, with a view to reconciling the positions of Parliament and the EU Council on a number of issues.

Producer groups. The procedures for recognising producer groups are a major source of divergence.

Recognised producer groups will be able to apply for protection of their products as GIs.

The European Commission is proposing compulsory recognition of producer groups by the Member States. Parliament has adopted this principle, whereas the EU Council is asking for flexibility so that countries can decide whether or not to recognise a producer group. The EU Council is firm on this point.

Another element to be negotiated concerns the protection of the use of a Gl name when it is used as an ingredient in a processed agricultural product (such as 'ravioli with Parmigiano Reggiano'). Before authorising the use of a Gl on a processed product, Parliament is seeking the written agreement of the producer group concerned and possible financial compensation.

For the EU Council, a Gl used as an ingredient could be used in the name of the processed product under certain conditions guaranteeing the reputation of the Gl. However, as is currently the case, the producer would not be required to ask the producer group for written authorisation to use the Gl. The EU Council's position provides for a new obligation to notify the producer group.

Parliament is also slightly more ambitious than the Member States when it comes to sustainability criteria for Gls. The EU Council is trying to reduce the chapter on sustainability to a minimum, which will be dealt with later in the planned law on sustainable food systems. MPs are proposing a list of sustainable economic, social and environmental practices and the possibility of including these practices in the specifications. Furthermore, according to Parliament's position, producers could explain their commitment to social and environmental sustainability in publicly available reports.

Wine. The institutions will debate the exclusion of certain chapters of 'GI wines' from the scope of the

'horizontal' Regulation on GIs. Parliament wants certain provisions to remain in the text of the Common Market Organisation (CMO) (sustainability, labelling, generic terms, etc.). The EU Council wishes to retain the Gs designating wines in the horizontal Regulation on Gis, including the rules on control that the Commission had left in the text of the CMO.

Parliament and the EU Council have agreed not to entrust the European Intellectual Property Office

(EUIPO) with tasks relating to the examination of applications filed with a view to protecting a product as a GI. Unlike the EU Council, Parliament agrees to entrust certain responsibilities to this Agency, such as maintaining the EU's electronic register of GIs and setting up and managing an alert system to monitor the registration of domain names. The Commission has already criticised the positions of the EU Council and Parliament, as it wishes to entrust as many tasks as possible to the EUIPO while ensuring that it remains the decision-making body for Gl registration. (Original version in French by Lionel Changer)