Proposals to protect quality European foods

The European Commission has presented a proposal to improve protection for geographical indications and designations of origin for a variety of agricultural products and foodstuffs, to include Prosciutto di Parma, Roquefort cheese and Bayrisches Bier .

By giving all WTO members the right to object to registration of these geographical names, the proposal hopes to improve the recognition on international markets. The Commission further proposes to add wine vinegar to and withdraw mineral water from the list of products eligible for protection.

Welcoming the proposal, Franz Fischler, Commissioner for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development said: "The EU produces a range of high-quality and speciality foodstuffs. Better protecting their geographical indication from pirating or unfair competition will not only help to better inform consumers world-wide, it will also encourage producers, who can be safe in the knowledge that their produce receives its legitimate world-wide recognition."​

The proposal has to be adopted with qualified majority in the Agriculture Council, following the opinion of the European Parliament.

"Queso Manchego", "Prosciutto di Parma" and"Roquefort", labelling products as unique because of the place they come from and the way they are made gives them special added value, according to the Commission.

However, when a product acquires a reputation beyond national borders it can find itself in competition with products which pass themselves off as the genuine article and use the same name. This unfair competition not only discourages producers, but also misleads consumers. That is why the European Union has created registration systems to promote and protect food products, and where Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 applies.

The purpose of the Regulation is to protect geographical names used for products meeting very precisely defined requirements. It provides a harmonised Community-level system protecting rights in the domain of intellectual property law and falls within the ambit of the TRIPS Agreement (1994), notably the section on protection of geographical indications.

At present, the names of about 570 cheese, meat, fruit, vegetable and other products are registered as PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) and TSG (Traditional Speciality Guaranteed).