Brussels, 26/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - The process of allocating the domain names “.wine” and “.vin” will not be suspended and the procedure will therefore continue, ICANN decided after its meeting in London, which closed on Wednesday 25 June. The European parties had argued before the American body in charge of allocating domain names on the internet for this suspension to allow a consensus to be sought with the candidates for these domain names (see EUROPE 11107). In its end-of-session report, the GAC, the consultative body of ICANN within which the governments are represented, dryly declared that the discussions on “.wine” and “.vin” had continued, but that “no agreement was reached because of the sensitive nature of the matter”. It went on to state that “some members (countries) expressed concerns in terms of ICANN's accountability and public policy. These concerns are not shared by all members”.
“There is no longer any obstacle to a delegation of these domain names by ICANN and their use in defiance of national, European and international laws”, said the European Federation of Origin Wines (EFOW), which is bitterly disappointed. The candidate companies, which have no interest in wine, will be able to auction the second-level domain names, including those which correspond to appellation of origin names (such as “rioja.wine” or “bordeaux.vin”), which will leave the door open to all manner of abuse and counterfeiting, adds EFOW, stressing that it is wrong that a technical-purpose organisation should be able to dictate rules on the internet which differ from those decided on by sovereign states. The wine producers have announced that they will work with other European organisations, including those active in fields other than wine, to set in place a general boycott of the domain names “.vin” and “.wine” and call on the European Union and its member states, and particularly Italy, which will hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU from 1 July, to put in place all measures necessary to reinforce the laws on the internet, including blocking illegal domain names. The Italian government immediately pledged to treat the dossier as a matter of the greatest importance over the next six months. In a press release, Italy declared that it was determined to take a tough stance. “We will work with the other member states as a team and together and determinedly, we will protect our heritage of denominations, which are in serious danger due to the policy of a private body like ICANN”, said Italian Minister for Agriculture Maurizio Martina. “We will not stop fighting this in all possible fora, because what is at stake is not just the interests of the wine producers, but the interests of Italy and of Europe”, Martina continued. France, which made its feelings known with an impassioned intervention by its Secretary of State for Digital Affairs Axelle Lemaire at the opening of the ICANN meeting in London, made no secret of its anger over the issue. “The French authorities note with regret ICANN's refusal to take account of the safeguard measures proposed by the organisations for the protection of geographical indications (…). ICANN's current procedures highlight its inability to take account of the legitimate concerns of the states and to guarantee a common management of resources, in full respect of cultural diversity and a balance of interests in the economic sectors which its decisions affect”, said Lemaire. She concluded: “ICANN is no longer the appropriate body to discuss internet governance”. (IL)