Brussels, 14/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is expected, on Wednesday 27 May, to adopt a communication in which it recommends reviewing parts of the policy on the quality of agricultural products. It is likely to propose: - developing guidelines for agricultural product quality certification schemes and criteria for new EU certification schemes; - preparing the ground for possible legislative initiatives on geographical indications, traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG) and marketing standards, including the development of optional reserved terms (these inform purchasers that the products have been produced in a specific way or have specific characteristics, for example, “fed on …”, “mountain products”, “free range”, etc).
Geographical indications are designations describing agricultural products or foodstuffs which draw their characteristics or reputation from the geographical area from which they come. There are three schemes (one for wines, one for spirits and one for agricultural products and foodstuffs) and two instruments (protected designation of origin - PDO - and protected geographical indication - PGI). The Commission says that responses to the Green Paper on the quality of agricultural products of 15 October 2008 showed widespread support for the system of geographical indications and demands for better protection of EU geographical indications in third countries. The system has, however, to be reviewed and simplified, the Commission says, adding that those working in the sector stress the need for the reputation for products to be maintained and feel that registration procedures are too long.
The Commission plans to “prepare the ground for a possible recast of the geographical indications legislation” on the following lines: 1) further consideration on bringing wines, spirits, and agricultural products and foodstuffs together into a single regulatory structure, while maintaining the specificities of each system, the Commission says; 2) clarification of intellectual property rights, and particularly the relation between different types of intellectual property; 3) identification of generic names (names that have become the common name for an agricultural product or foodstuff); 4) the possible extension of certification requirements to different players in the supply chain (such as importers and distributors), as is the case for organic products.
On several issues, the Commission feels further reflection is needed before legislation is considered. In the meantime, guidelines could be developed for stakeholders, covering: 1) uses of geographical indications as advertised ingredients on the labels of processed products; 2) encouraging producer groups to include sustainability criteria in product specifications.
In an international context, the Commission will strive to obtain better protection for EU products in third countries, through improvement of the WTO agreement on this issue and bilateral agreements with a number of trading partners.
There is no mention of setting up a European geographical indications or quality of agricultural products agency, as has been called for by the profession and the European Parliament. The Commission points out that, since 2006, registration time has been cut, and suggests that there is room for further improvement, for example, by rejecting more quickly those applications that are clearly inadequate.
Traditional specialities. The Commission believes that the certification of traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG) has not fulfilled its potential. Since the system was introduced in 1992, only 20 names have been registered as TSGs (beer, confectionary, pasta, mixed dishes, soups, ice creams, etc). The Commission notes that there remains, nonetheless, support for the system. It plans to add the term “traditional products” to the list of terms reserved for marketing standards and remains persuaded of the need to get rid of TSGs.
Marketing standards. The Commission rejects the idea of developing a label that guarantees compliance with community production rules, which would, necessarily, be open to products imported from third countries, it says. However, it is considering putting in place a compulsory labelling system that would inform consumers of where the product they are buying was grown or made (for example, “produced in the EU”). (L.C./transl.rt)