EU Member States on Monday 2 May mostly welcomed the proposal on the revision of the Geographical Indications (GI) Regulation.
At the meeting of the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA), the representative of the European Commission presented the outline of the proposal on 31 March (see EUROPE 12929/14).
The proposal aims to strengthen protection (especially on the Internet) and to allow Member States that currently have a very low rate of GI use to increase this rate through a single and simplified registration procedure for all products. Sustainability considerations for GIs (on a voluntary basis) should be encouraged.
The European Commission also clarified that the text presented aims to: - strengthen producer groups (groups recognised by Member States should be empowered to manage, enforce and develop their GIs); - provide for cooperation between the European Commission’s services and those of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
At the SCA, some delegations expressed their concerns and asked for more clarity regarding the empowerment of producer groups, stressing the need to avoid too much bureaucracy. A group of countries (including Luxembourg, Poland, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Ireland and Greece) have also requested clarification of the EUIPO’s role in GI registration. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)