39 Amendments of Dacian CIOLOŞ related to 2022/0089(COD)
Amendment 123 #
Proposal for a regulation
Title 1
Title 1
Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on European Union geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, and quality schemes for agricultural products, spirit drinks and foodstuffs, amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2017/1001 and (EU) 2019/787 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012
Amendment 139 #
(9) Ensuring uniform recognition and protection throughout the Union for the intellectual property rights related to names protected in the Union is a priority that can be effectively achieved only at Union level. Geographical indications protecting the names of wines, spirit drinks and agricultural products having characteristics, attributes or reputation linked to their place of production are an exclusive Union’s competence. A unitary and exclusive system of geographical indications therefore needs to be provided. Geographical indications are a collective right held by all eligible producers in a designated area willing to adhere to a product specification. Producers acting collectively have more powers than individual producers and take collective responsibilities to manage their geographical indications, including responding to societal demands for products resulting from sustainable production. Operating geographical indications reward producers fairly for their efforts to produce a diverse range of quality products. At the same time, this can benefit the rural economy, which is particularly the case in areas with natural or other specific constraints, such as mountain areas and the most remote regions, including outermost regions, where the farming sector accounts for a significant part of the economy and production costs are high. In this way, quality schemes are able to contribute to and complement rural development policy as well as market and income support policies of the CAP. In particular, they may contribute to the developments in the farming sector and, especially, disadvantaged areas. The European Commission's June 30, 2021 Communication on "A long-term vision for rural areas in the EU - Towards stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas by 2040" recognises the key role of geographical indications in the prosperity and economic diversification of rural areas. A Union framework that protects geographical indications by providing for their inclusion in a register at Union level facilitates the development of the agricultural sector, since the resulting, more uniform approach ensures fair competition between the producers of products bearing such indications and enhances the credibility of the products in the consumers’ eyes. The system of geographical indications aims at enabling consumers to make more informed purchasing choices and, through labelling and advertising, helping them to correctly identify their products on the market. Geographical indications, being a type of intellectual property right, help operators and companies valorise their intangible assets. To avoid creating unfair conditions of competition and to sustain the internal market, any producer, including a third country producer, should be able to use a registered name and market products designated as geographical indications throughout the Union and in electronic commerce, provided that the product concerned complies with the requirements of the relevant specification and that the producer is covered by a system of controls. In light of the experience gained from the implementation of Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2019/787 and (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council27 , there is a need to address certain legal issues, to clarify and simplify some rules and to streamline the procedures. _________________ 27 Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs (OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1).
Amendment 140 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) The Union has for some time been aiming at simplifying the regulatory framework of the Common Agricultural Policy. This approach should also apply to regulations in the e procedures for amending GI specifications have already been simplifield of geographical indications, without calling into question the specific characteristics of each sectorand made more efficient for wine and agri-food products as part of the review of the Common Agricultural Policy. In order to further simplify the lengthy registration and amendment procedures, harmonised procedural rules for geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products should be laid down in a single legal instrument, while maintaining product specific provisions for winespirit drinks in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, for spirit drinks in Regulation (EU) 2019/787 and for agricultural products in2019/787 and for agricultural products in this Regulation. As far as wine is concerned, for the sake of the same objective of simplification, and with the aim of ensuring a holistic approach to the management of the sector, it is preferable to maintain the provisions on geographical indications in a single legislative text, that of Regulation 1308/2013, some of whose provisions are amended to align them with this Regulation. The procedures for the registration, amendments to the product specification and cancellation of the registration in respect of geographical indications originating in the Union, including opposition procedures, should be carried out by the Member States and the Commission. The Member States and the Commission should be responsible for distinct stages of each procedure. Member States should be responsible for the first stage of the procedure, which consists of receiving the application from the producer group, assessing it, including running a national opposition procedure, and, following the results of the assessment, submitting the application to the Commission. The Commission should be responsible for scrutinising the application in the second stage of the procedure, including running a worldwide opposition procedure, and taking a decision on granting the protection to the geographical indication or not. Geographical indications should be registered only at Union level. However, with effect from the date of application with the Commission for registration at Union level, Member States should be able to grant transitional protection at national level without affecting the internal market or international trade. The protection afforded by this Regulation upon registration should be equally available to geographical indications of third countries that meet the corresponding criteria and that are protected in their country of origin. The Commission should carry out the corresponding procedures for geographical indications originating in third countries.
Amendment 162 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25 a (new)
Recital 25 a (new)
(25a) The recognition and protection of established rights in the domain names industry at international level is essential to prevent the usurpation of the reputation of geographical indications due to the strong development of commerce on the Internet. The European Union's trade agreements with third countries currently constitute the most appropriate framework for reinforcing protection at the international level. The European Commission should pay special attention to the need of including the protection of geographical indications rights at domain names' level in bilateral trade agreements and other international trade negotiations, and strengthen its mediation work with the bodies in charge of assigning domain names, and very particularly with ICANN, with the objective to include the GI's existing rights in the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).
Amendment 165 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) The labelling of wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products should be subject to the general rules laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council29 , and in particular the provisions aimed at preventing labelling that may confuse or mislead consumers. _________________ 29 OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 18.
Amendment 167 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 30
Recital 30
(30) The use of Union symbols or indications on the packaging of products designated by a geographical indication should be made obligatory in order to make this category of products, and the guarantees attached to them, better known to consumers and to permit easier identification of these products on the market, thereby facilitating checks. However, in view of the specific nature of products covered by this Regulation, special provisions concerning labelling should be maintained for wine and spirit drinks. The use of such symbols or indications should remain voluntary for third country geographical indications and designations of origin.
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) The added value of the geographical indications is based on consumer trust. The system of geographical indications significantly relies on self-control, due diligence and individual responsibility of producers, while it is the role of the competent authorities of the Member States to take the necessary steps to prevent or stop the use of names of products, which are in breach of the rules governing geographical indications. The role of the Commission is to intervene in case of a systemic failure to apply Union law. Geographical indications should be subject to the system of official controls, in line with the principles set out in Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council30 , which should include a system of controls at all stages of production, processing and distribution. Each operator should be subject to a control system that verifies compliance with the product specification. Taking into account that wine is subject to specific controls defined in the sectoral legislation, this Regulation should lay down controls for spirit drinks and agricultural products only. _________________ 30 OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, p. 1.
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 39
Recital 39
Amendment 191 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 55
Recital 55
(55) PSome provisions concerning geographical indications in Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, concerning the wine sector, and (EU) 2019/787, concerning the spirit drinks sector, need to be amended in order to align them to the common rules on registration, amendment, opposition, cancellation, protection and controls of the geographical indications set out in this Regulation. In particular for wine, additional changes are needed to the definition of protected geographical indications in line with the Trade Related Agreement on Intellectual Property. For reasons of consistency with this Regulation, the provision on the tasks of the EUIPO laid down in Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council33 should also be amended. _________________ 33 Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the European Union trade mark (OJ L 154, 16.6.2017, p. 1).
Amendment 195 #
(56) In order to supplement or amend certain non-essential elements of this Regulation, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of defining sustainability standards and laying down criteria for the recognition of existing sustainability standards; clarifying or adding items to be supplied as part of accompanying information; entrusting the EUIPO with the tasks related to scrutiny for opposition and the opposition procedure, operation of the register, publication of standard amendments to a product specification, consultation in the context of cancellation procedure, establishment and management of an alert system informing applicants about the availability of their geographical indication as a domain name, scrutiny of third country geographical indications other than geographical indications under the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications34 , proposed for protection pursuant to international negotiations or international agreements; establishing appropriate criteria for monitoring performance of the EUIPO in the execution of the tasks entrusted to it; laying down additional rules on the use of geographical indications to identify ingredients in processed products; laying down additional rules for determining the generic status of termsthe establishment and management of an alert system informing applicants about the availability of their geographical indication as a domain name; establishing appropriate criteria for monitoring performance of the EUIPO in the execution of the tasks entrusted to it; establishing the restrictions and derogations with regard to the sourcing of feed in the case of a designation of origin; establishing restrictions and derogations with regard to the slaughtering of live animals or with regard to the sourcing of raw materials; laying down rules for determining the use of the denomination of a plant variety or of an animal breed; laying down rules which limit the information contained in the product specification for geographical indications and traditional specialities guaranteed; laying down further details of the eligibility criteria for traditional specialities guaranteed; laying down additional rules to provide for appropriate certification and accreditation procedures to apply in respect of product certification bodies; laying down additional rules to further detail protection of traditional specialities guaranteed; laying down for traditional specialities guaranteed additional rules for determining the generic status of terms, conditions for use of plant variety and animal breed denominations, and relation to intellectual property rights; defining additional rules for joint applications concerning more than one national territory and complementing the rules of the application process for traditional specialities guaranteed guaranteed; complementing the rules for the opposition procedure for traditional specialities guaranteed to establish detailed procedures and deadlines; supplementing the rules regarding the amendment application process for traditional specialities guaranteed; supplementing the rules regarding the cancellation process for traditional specialities guaranteed; laying down detailed rules relating to the criteria for optional quality terms; reserving an additional optional quality term, laying down its conditions of use; laying down derogations to the use of the term ‘mountain product’ and establishing the methods of production, and other criteria relevant for the application of that optional quality term, in particular, laying down the conditions under which raw materials or feedstuffs are permitted to come from outside the mountain areas. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making35 . In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts. _________________ 34 https://www.wipo.int/publications/en/detai ls.jsp?id=3983 35 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1.
Amendment 204 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
This Regulation lays down the rules on the following quality schemes:
Amendment 207 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and, agricultural products and foodstuffs.
Amendment 222 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) ‘producer group’ means any association, irrespective of its legal form, mainly composed of producers or processors of the same product;
Amendment 242 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point f
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point f
(f) ‘product certification bodies’ means delegated bodies within the meaning of Title II, Chapter III, of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 which certify that products designated by geographical indications or traditional specialities guaranteed comply with the product specification.
Amendment 260 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) fair competition for producers in the marketing chainfarmers and producers of agricultural products and foodstuffs having value-adding characteristics and attributes;
Amendment 280 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
1. This Title covers wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, including foodstuffs and fishery and aquaculture products, listed under Chapters 1 to 23 of the combined nomenclature set out in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/8743 , and the additional agricultural products under the combined nomenclature headings and codes set out in Annex I to this Regulation. _________________ 43 Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1).
Amendment 289 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point b
Amendment 299 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 1
1. Applications for the registration of geographical indications may only be submitted by a producer group of a product ('applicant producer group'), the name of which is proposed for registration. Regional or localOther interested parties and public bodies may help in the preparation of the application and in the related procedure.
Amendment 308 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) the geographical area concerned is defined by a natural features without reference to property boundariesenvironment and has characteristics which differ appreciably from those of neighbouring areas or the characteristics of the product are different from those produced in neighbouring areas.
Amendment 318 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 7
Article 9 – paragraph 7
7. The Member State shall ensure that its decision, be it favourable or not, is made public and that any natural or legal person having a legitimate interest has an opportunity to lodge an appeal. The Member State shall also ensure that the product specification on which its favourable decision is based is published, and shall provide electronic access to the product specification.
Amendment 325 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 11 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 11 – paragraph 1 – point a
Amendment 339 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2
Article 12 – paragraph 2
2. The sustainability undertakings referred to in paragraph (1a) shallmay be included in the product specification or developed in separate initiatives.
Amendment 359 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 13 – paragraph 1 – point a
Amendment 389 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 4
Article 17 – paragraph 4
4. Where, based on the scrutiny carried out pursuant to paragraph 1, the Commission considers that the conditions laid down in this Regulation and in Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) 2019/787, as appropriate, are fulfilled, it shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union the single document and the reference to the publication of the product specification.
Amendment 399 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 18 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. The Commission shall be exempted from the obligation to meet the deadline to perform the scrutiny referred to in Article 17(2) and toshall inform the applicant of the reasons for the delay where it receives a communication from a Member State, concerning an application for registration in accordance with Article 9(6), which:
Amendment 415 #
4. The Commission shall checkonduct the examination of the admissibility of the opposition. If the Commission considers that the opposition is admissible, it shall, within 5 months from the date of publication in the Official Journal of the European Union invite the authority or the person that lodged the opposition and the authority or the applicant producer group that lodged the application to engage in appropriate consultations for a reasonable period that shall not exceed 3 months. At any time during that period, the Commission may, at the request of the authority or the applicant producer group, extend the deadline for the consultations by a maximum of 3 months.
Amendment 421 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 5
Article 19 – paragraph 5
5. The authority or the person that lodged the opposition and the authority or applicant producer group that lodged the application shall start appropriate consultations without undue delay. They shall provide each other with the relevant information to assess whether the application for registration complies with this Regulation, or Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013 or (EU) 2019/787, as appropriate.
Amendment 423 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 9
Article 19 – paragraph 9
9. After completion of the opposition procedure, the Commission shall finalise its assessment of the Union application for registration, taking into account any request for transitional periods, the outcome of the opposition procedure, any notice of comments received and any other matters arising subsequently to its scrutiny that may imply a change of the single document.
Amendment 435 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 20 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the proposed geographical indication does not comply with the definition of the geographical indication or with the requirements referred to in this Regulation, Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 or Regulation (EU) 2019/787 as the case may be;
Amendment 440 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 21 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 21 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. The Commission may adopt implementing acts extending the transitional period granted under paragraph (1) up to 15 years, or allowing continued use for up to 15 years, provided it is additionally shown that:
Amendment 447 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 6
Article 23 – paragraph 6
6. The Commission shall retain documentation related to the registration of a geographical indication in digital or paper form for the period of validity of the geographical indication, and in case of cancellation. In case of cancellation, the documentation is retained for 10 years thereafter.
Amendment 498 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 6
Article 26 – paragraph 6
Amendment 518 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 2
Article 27 – paragraph 2
Amendment 639 #
5. Where, in accordance with the product specification, a production and/or a bottling or packaging step is carried out by one or more producers in a country other than the country of the origin of the geographical indication, provisions for verification of compliance of those producers shall be set out in the product specification. If the relevant production and/or bottling or packaging step takes place in the Union, the producers shall be notified to the competent authorities of the Member State where the production and/or bottling or packaging step takes place and be subject to verification as a producer of the product designated by the geographical indication.
Amendment 686 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 48 – paragraph 3
Article 48 – paragraph 3
Amendment 702 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 51 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 51 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the name to be protected as a designation of origin or protected geographical indication, which may be either a geographical name of the place of production of a specific product, or a nameis used in trade or in common language to describe the specific product in the defined geographical area;
Amendment 703 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 51 – paragraph 1 – point e
Article 51 – paragraph 1 – point e
(e) a description of the method of obtaining the product and, where appropriate, the traditionauthentic and unvarying local methods and specific practices used; as well as information concerning packaging, if the applicant group so determines and gives sufficient product- specific justification as to why the packaging must take place in the defined geographical area to safeguard quality, to ensure the origin or to ensure control, taking into account Union law, in particular that on the free movement of goods and the free provision of services;
Amendment 746 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 81 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 81 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Regulation (EU) 1308/2013
Article 94
Article 94
Amendment 759 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 81 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Article 81 – paragraph 1 – point 3