BAKGRUNN (fra kommisjonsforordningen)

(1)    Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 establishes a single common Union framework for the registration and protection of geographical indications in three agricultural sectors: wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products. To this purpose, it amended the Regulations which previously provided for separate frameworks in those sectors. Notably, Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 amended Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council  concerning geographical indications in the wine sector and Regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council  concerning geographical indications in the spirit drinks sector, and repealed Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council  concerning geographical indications in the agricultural products and foodstuffs sector. 
 

(2)    Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 includes exhaustive provisions on the procedures for registration, for the amendment of the product specification and for the cancellation of geographical indications in all the agricultural sectors (agriculture products, wines and spirit drinks) and traditional specialities guaranteed and on their protection and enforcement. Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 also includes the rules on controls as regards geographical indications for agricultural products and spirit drinks and traditional specialities guaranteed. In addition, that Regulation contains a specific section concerning geographical indications for the agricultural products sector, providing rules on the definition of geographical indications, content of the product specification and of the single document and specific rules on sourcing of feed and raw materials and on plant varieties and animal breeds. In order to fully harmonise rules on geographical indications in all the agricultural sectors (agriculture products, wines and spirit drinks), Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 also amends certain rules on geographical indications in the wine and spirit drinks sector, which are provided for by Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) 2019/787, respectively. In particular, these provisions concern the definition of protected designations of origin and of protected geographical indications in the wine sector and the definition of geographical indications in the spirit drinks sector, the content of the product specification and of single document in both sectors, the controls in the wine sector and other specific rules.  
 

(3)    In order to ensure the smooth functioning of the market of geographical indications in all agricultural sectors and of traditional specialities guaranteed and in particular to simplify and rationalise the functioning of these systems, certain rules have to be adopted by means of an implementing act while the old implementing rules for the application of Regulations (EU) No 1151/2012, (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) 2019/787 should be adapted to the new legal framework established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1143. 
 

(4)    For the sake of clarity, consistency and transparency, formalities for the application for registration at Union stage of a geographical indication for geographical indications originating within and outside the Union should be clarified. In order to ensure a uniform and efficient registration procedure, it is necessary to establish uniform content and forms for the single document. A limit to the length of single documents should be set out in order to have a more streamlined process and for standardisation needs.
 

(5)    A mechanism for a preliminary formal check to reject an application for registration or for approval of a Union amendment or a request for cancellation of a registration, concerning a geographical indication, which is clearly insufficient or incomplete should be set out to prevent artful applications and requests and to facilitate and accelerate the examination of the Commission. 
 

(6)    Rules on publication for information of single documents of geographical indications that have never been published should be provided in order to allow geographical indications that were registered in the past, without publication of a single document, to align with the more recent rules that provide for a geographical indication to be accompanied by a single document.  
 

(7)    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. 
 

(8)    As regards applications for registration of a name or approval of a Union amendment to the product specification of a geographical indication covering distinct products, it is necessary to define in which cases products bearing the same registered name are considered distinct products. In order to avoid that products not complying with the requirements for registration as geographical indication are marketed using a registered name, compliance with the requirements for registration should be demonstrated for each distinct product covered by an application.
 

(9)    In case of substantial changes to the product specification following the exchanges between the Commission and the Member State, concerning an application for registration at Union stage, the process should be clarified in order to ensure full transparency with national stakeholders. If the application concerns a geographical indication originating in a third country, the process should be clarified with reference to the documents to be communicated to the Commission.    
 

(10)    To ensure that uniform and efficient procedures are in place with regard to the presentation of oppositions, of notifications of the results of the consultations following an opposition procedure, of applications for approval of a Union amendments to the product specification, of communications of standard and temporary amendment to the product specification, and of cancellation requests, it is necessary to establish uniform rules concerning the content of the forms to be used and the way those presentations are to be made. A limit to the length of applications for Union amendment should be set out in order to have a more streamlined process and for standardisation needs. Publication of personal data should be avoided, unless necessary for the exercise of the rights guaranteed by the procedures. 
 

(11)    The procedure for a Member State to initiate a cancellation procedure on its own initiative should be provided in order to allow the cancellation of obsolete names in the absence of producer groups. The procedure for the Commission to initiate a cancellation procedure on its own initiative should also be provided as a guarantee for the efficiency of the system.  
 

(12)    To ensure transparency and uniformity of the protection of geographical indications across Member States, it is necessary to adopt rules on the content and the form of the electronic Union register of geographical indications established under Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143. That register should be an electronic database stored within an information system, and accessible to the public.  
 

(13)    Rules and forms should be established in respect of the attestation of compliance with the product specification, set out in Article 45 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143. 
 

(14)    Specific rules on the description of the product for geographical indications concerning the sector of agricultural products should be adopted for standardisation needs. In order to allow an easy and quick examination of applications for the registration of a name or the approval of an amendment, the description of the product should contain only relevant, measurable and verifiable elements. Repetitions, implicit requirements and redundant parts should be avoided. 
 

(15)    An obligation to include detailed rules on the origin and quality of feed in the product specifications of products of animal origin, the names of which are registered as protected designations of origin, should be established in order to guarantee a uniform quality of the product. The way of drafting those rules should be harmonised. 
 

(16)    The product specification for protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications in the agriculture products’ sector should include the measures taken to ensure that the product originates in the defined geographical area. Those measures should be clear and detailed in order to allow to trace the product, raw materials, feed and other items coming from the defined geographical area. 

(17)    For the sake of clarity, consistency and transparency, the content and the formalities for application for registration at Union stage of a traditional speciality guaranteed submitted by Member States and by third countries should be clarified. In order to ensure a uniform and efficient registration procedure, it is necessary to establish uniform content and forms for the product specification.  
 

(18)    A mechanism for the preliminary formal checks to reject an application for registration or for approval of an amendment or a request for cancellation of a registration, concerning a traditional speciality guaranteed, which is clearly insufficient or incomplete, should be provided for to prevent artful applications and requests and to facilitate and accelerate the examination by the Commission.
 

(19)    Specific rules on the description of the product and the production method for traditional specialities guaranteed should be adopted for standardisation needs. In order to allow an easy and quick examination of applications for registration of a name or approval of an amendment, the description of the product and of the production method should contain only relevant, measurable and verifiable elements. Repetitions, implicit requirements and redundant parts should be avoided.
 

(20)    As regards applications for registration of a name or approval of an amendment to the product specification of a traditional speciality guaranteed covering distinct products, it is necessary to define in which cases products bearing the same registered name are considered distinct products. In order to avoid that products not complying with the requirements for registration are marketed using a registered name, compliance with the requirements for registration should be demonstrated for each distinct product covered by an application.
 

(21)    In case of substantial changes to the product specification, following the exchanges between the Commission and the Member State, concerning an application for registration at Union stage, the process should be clarified in order to ensure full transparency with national stakeholders. If the application concerns an application for registration of a traditional speciality guaranteed submitted by a third country , the process should be clarified with reference to the documents to be communicated to the Commission.    
 

(22)    To ensure that uniform and efficient procedures are in place with regard to the presentation of oppositions, of notifications of the results of the consultations following an opposition procedure, of applications for approval of an amendment to the product specification, and of cancellation requests, it is necessary to establish uniform rules concerning the content of the forms to be used and the way those presentations are to be made. A limit to the length of applications for amendment should be set out in order to have a more streamlined process and for standardisation needs. Publication of personal data should be avoided, unless deemed necessary for the exercise of the rights guaranteed by the procedures. 
 

(23)    The procedure for the Commission to initiate a cancellation procedure on its own initiative should also be provided as a guarantee for the efficiency of the system.  
 

(24)    To ensure transparency and uniformity across Member States, it is necessary to adopt rules on the content and the form of the electronic Union register of traditional specialities guaranteed established under Article 65 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143. That register should be an electronic database stored within an information system, and accessible to the public. 
 

(25)    For the sake of transparency, requests for cancellations of registrations of a traditional speciality guaranteed by producers, as referred to in Article 67(2) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143, should be accompanied by an explanation of the reasons for cancellation. The national stage of the procedure may not gather all the producers of the product designated by the traditional speciality guaranteed for which the cancellation is requested. Producer groups of that product possibly established or resident in a Member State different from the one from which the request of cancellation originates should be put in a position to lodge an opposition being fully informed. 
 

(26)    Rules and forms should be established in respect of the attestation of compliance with product specification set out in Article 77 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143. 
 

(27)    Rules on the use of symbols and indications on the products marketed under protected designations of origin, protected geographical indications, geographical indications or traditional specialities guaranteed should be set out, including on the appropriate linguistic versions to be used. 
 

(28)    The rules on the use of registered names in association with the symbols, indications or corresponding abbreviations should be clarified. 
 

(29)    In the interests of effective administrative management and taking account of the experience acquired through the use of 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  and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1185 . 
 

(30)    The Commission has put in place an information system, ‘E-Ambrosia’, for the management of the applications for registration and for amendment of the product specification of geographical indications and of the applications for registration and for amendment of the traditional specialities guaranteed. The Member States and the Commission should continue to use this system for the purposes of communication concerning the procedures related to applications for registration, for the approval of Union amendments and for communication of standard and temporary amendments. In addition, the Member States and the Commission should be also allowed to use this system for the purposes of communication concerning the procedures related to applications for registration and for the approval of amendments of traditional specialities guaranteed. However, owing to a strict system of accreditation, this system should not be used for communications between the Commission and the Member States concerning oppositions and cancellation requests, both for geographical indications and traditional specialities guaranteed, and it should not be used for communications with third countries. Instead, for the opposition procedures and cancellation requests, Member States, the competent authorities and producer groups, as well as natural or legal persons who have a legitimate interest under this Regulation, should communicate with the Commission via electronic mail. 

(31)    Certain provisions of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/34 , which lays down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, should be deleted, because they would be in conflict with the provisions of this Regulation, which also applies to the wine sector. Other provisions in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/34, not covered by the scope of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143, notably the provisions on controls, should be maintained or adapted following the amendments that Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 made to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.
 

(32)    Since Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 has moved the rules on verification of the product specification of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications in the wine sector from Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council  as regards an appropriate system of checks to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, the implementing rules on verification of the product specification in the wine sector, which are provided for in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/34, should no longer refer to Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013. The reference to Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 should be deleted from the title of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/34. 
 

(33)    Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/34 should therefore be amended accordingly. 
 

(34)    Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 668/2014 , which lays down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1236 , which lays down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2019/787, should be repealed, since their provisions would be in conflict with the provisions of this Regulation, which also apply to the agricultural products and spirit drinks sectors.
 

(35)    The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Quality Policy Committee for agricultural products, wine and spirit drinks,