The European Commission adopted a delegated act on Friday 19 May allowing Croatian wine producers to use the name of the “Teran” wine grape variety on the labels of the protected designation of origin (PDO) “Hrvatska Istra” (see EUROPE 11726).
Slovenia had criticised the questioning of the acquis on the “Teran” PDO, highlighting that there is no tradition of use of the name “Teran” in Croatia and arguing that consumers might be misled and that the area where the name “Teran” is used might be extended in Croatia.
Teran remains a Slovenian PDO. The Commission makes clear that “Teran” is and will remain a Slovenian protected designation of origin registered in the EU. This means that the wine is protected against any commercial use of this name by other wines that do not respect the rules provided for in the technical file of the PDO “Teran” of the Slovenian Karst region.
Through this delegated act (which still has to be discussed by the Council and the European Parliament), the Commission proposes to amend Regulation 607/20091 on wine grape varieties and their synonyms that can appear on wine labels in order to allow Croatian wine producers to continue to use in the labelling of their wines the name of the ‘Teran’ wine grape variety, traditionally used in this region before Croatia’s accession to the Union on 1 July 2013, “provided that it applies exclusively to the Protected Designation of Origin ‘Hrvatska Istra’”.
The delegated act also seeks to specify the conditions under which the name of the “Teran” variety may appear in the labelling of products covered by the designation of origin.
No negotiated solution having been reached, despite the Commission’s efforts to reconcile the positions of Croatia and Slovenia, and following verification of the information available to the Commission on existing labelling practices concerning the “Teran” wine grape variety, the Commission says that the name of that variety should be entered in Part A of Annex XV to Regulation (EC) No 607/2009 with regard to the protected designation of origin “Hrvatska Istra”. In view of the concerns expressed by Slovenia and to find a solution that might satisfy all the producers concerned and obtain the backing of the member states in question, the Commission considers it appropriate to specify the conditions under which the name of the “Teran” variety may appear in the labelling of products covered by the designation of origin in question, taking account of the conditions that Croatia itself plans to impose on its producers. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)