On Thursday 14 June, the judges of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) considered (C-169/17) that the Spanish regulation on the sales denomination “iberico de cebo” is in line with European Union law.
A royal Spanish decree sets out the exact conditions in which products made from Iberian pork can be given the sales denomination “iberico de cebo”. Pigs used for the pork must be fed with animal feed consisting mainly of cereals and legumes and be reared in intensive fattening farms. Animals weighing 110 kg must also have an unobstructed floor area of at least two square metres. Finally, the pigs cannot be slaughtered until the age of ten months.
Taking the view that such rules create competition distortion by imposing greater production costs on Iberian pork in Spain while producers in other member states do not have to bear such high costs, one Spanish producers’ association took the matter up with Spanish justice. It points out that the standards of rearing pigs when it comes to surface area and slaughter age are stricter than those set out in Directive 2008/120/EC. Spain’s Supreme Court referred the matter to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling, in order to know whether the regulation was compatible with EU law.
In their ruling, the judges firstly note that the Spanish decree does not relate to a generic denomination commonly used in the Union and does not ban the import or sale of products made from Iberian pork under other denominations. Therefore, Spanish law does not constitute an obstacle to trade between member states. In addition, the judges find that Spanish producers wanting to sell Iberian pork products under the “iberico de cebo” denomination must comply with the Spanish regulation, whatever the market.
Regarding the compatibility of the decree with Directive 2008/120/EC on the protection of the pigs, the Court finds that the decree does not aim to protect the animals but to improve the quality of the products. It therefore does not fall within the scope of the directive. Also, by fixing higher standards than those in the directive when it comes to rearing conditions, the judges find that the decree is not likely to harm the welfare of the animals and is therefore not incompatible with the directive. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)