Brussels, 23/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - In a press release, the Committee of Agricultural Organisations in the European Union (Copa) and the General Confederation of Agricultural Co-operatives in the European Union (Cogeca) have appealed for "strong protection of geographical indications for agricultural produce" in negotiations at the WTO. The organisations state that this should be a precondition for any agreement on market access. Copa and Cogeca have also called for a system of notification and registration protecting geographical indications at EU level and internationally. Until this kind of system is in place, "a rapid solution to this problem must be found", in the form of a list of geographical indications which are currently being abused, and by guaranteeing their multilateral protection.