Brussels, 15/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to take the decision to include Greek "Feta" on the Community list of protected names of origin (AOP), where, for example, it joins Parma ham and Champagne. Bearing in mind the 1999 ruling of the Court of Justice, which had cancelled a first regulation protecting Feta, the Commission's decision limits the name to goat and ewe cheese solely produced in certain regions of Greece and according to specific methods. The other Feta producing countries (Denmark, Germany and, to a lesser extent, France and the United Kingdom) have five years in which to adjust. "After this decision, Feta cheese can only be cheese produced in certain parts of Greece in accordance with stringent specifications", commented the Commission.
Unless a new appeal is introduced before the Court, this decision puts an end to a long battle between Greece, which has claimed the exclusive right to use the name Feta since 1994, and Denmark, which is just one of many producers of this kind of cheese.
The Commission has chosen to take the responsibility of this decision, without having a qualified majority in Council on this point. In June, the Agriculture Council had not managed to adopt the Commission's proposal by qualified majority, or block it by simple majority. Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom had voted against the proposal. France, Austria and Ireland abstained. Within the Committee on Rules of Procedure for "geographic indications and names of origin", 47 votes were expressed in favour of the classification of Feta, 23 were against and three abstained.