Brussels, 07/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday the European Commission will assess (during its first meeting of the year 2000) the legal scope and the consequences of Italy's reservation towards the ratification of the development, trade and cooperation agreement between the EU and South Africa (see EUROPE of 5 January, p.11). In parallel, the Committee of Permanent Representatives will examine the situation from the point of view of the Member States. Everyone has confidence that a rapid solution will be found to the divergence which is at the origin of Italy's reticence (it concerns the use by South African producers of the denomination "grappa"). The question now raised is that of knowing whether, in the immediate future, this reserve will be an obstacle to provisional application of the agreement.
In Rome, the Italian foreign minister published a press release stressing that Italy's reservation is motivated by a question of principle and is in no way directed against South Africa. On the contrary, Italy plans to intensify relations in every field with this country, not only at bilateral level but also within the context of the EU. The Italian approach comes within a general attitude that the government has in all international bodies, linked to the requirement that the principle of protection of traditional denominations should be explicitly recognised. In the case in hand, the EU acknowledged that at the European level Italy's exclusive right to the denomination "grappa" and this exclusivity must be recognised and protected at international level, in the interest of consumers and fair competition alike. Italy is willing to agree on a reasonable transitional period for South Africa, as decided for Porto and Sherry.
In the meantime, Greece has expressed similar reservation about the denomination "ouzo" (aniseed spirit). The South African production of "ouzo" is very limited and is in no way a commercial threat to Greece, but Athens considers it essential not to create a precedent for later negotiation.