Brussels, 27/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - As of today, all applications for the protection of quality agricultural products and foodstuffs in the Union - whether as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), or traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG) -, can be consulted online.
This new service, made available by the European Commission on the Internet site of its Directorate-General for Agriculture, will enable third parties to submit any objections to the grant of the protection sought by producers for certain of their products before these are duly registered as PDO, PGI or TSG.
The rules applicable to the protection of geographical indication and of designation of origin of agricultural products and foods, and those applicable to certificates of specific character of agricultural products and foods establish that at least six months before a product is registered, the European Commission must publish the main characteristics of the application in the Official Journal of the European Communities. The publication of the application for registration gives third parties the right to object to the request.
The Commission is of the view that the publication on Internet of the applications published in the Official Journals and of all pending applications will facilitate consultation by interested parties, thus leading to greater transparency.
The applications can be consulted at the following address: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/foodqual/protec/firstpub/index_en.htm