The European Commission decided on Wednesday 27 November to refer Denmark to the EU Court of Justice for failure to comply with its obligations regarding the name ‘Feta’ cheese (on the opening of infringement proceedings: see EUROPE 12179/31).
Danish companies produce white cheese and export it to third countries after labelling it as ‘Feta’. However, ‘Feta’ has been a protected designation of origin (PDO) registered in the EU since 2002 and, as such, “it can only be produced in Greece according to a set of production specifications”, the Commission points out.
Loyal cooperation. The institution considers this practice to be a direct violation of the protection afforded by the registration as a PDO that Danish authorities have neither prevented nor stopped. By failing to do so, Denmark is in breach of both the Regulation on quality systems and the principle of loyal cooperation between the Union and the Member States (Article 4 (3) of the EU Treaty).
This behaviour not only violates current EU law, but also risks undermining ongoing negotiations between the EU and non-Member States for bilateral agreements guaranteeing the protection of European PDOs and the promotion of EU quality products outside the EU, the Commission points out. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)