PURPOSE: to approve the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications of agricultural products and foodstuffs.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision (EU) 2017/1912 on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs.

CONTENT: with this Council Decision, the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications of agricultural products and foodstuffs is hereby approved on behalf of the Union.

The Agreement was signed by the Commission on 23 March 2017, subject to its conclusion at a later date.

This Agreement applies to the recognition and protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs other than wines, aromatised wine products and spirit drinks originating in the Parties' territories.

Under the negotiated geographical agreement, 1 150 EU foodstuff GIs will be protected in Iceland as in the rest of the EU .

Under the Agreement, although Iceland has not yet registered any protected geographical indications, geographical indications of Union agricultural products and foodstuffs will be protected in Iceland. The Agreement provides for a mechanism for updating the geographical indications list and for including new geographical indications at a later stage through a Joint Committee process.

Certain tasks for the implementation of the Agreement have been assigned to the Joint Committee set up by the Agreement, including the power to amend certain technical aspects of the Agreement and certain Annexes thereto.

Amendments to the Agreement through decisions of the Joint Committee shall be approved by the Commission on behalf of the Union. If interested parties cannot reach agreement following objections to a geographical indication, the Commission shall adopt a position in accordance with the procedure laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 9.10.2017.

The European Parliament adopted by 665 votes to 7, with 18 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs.

Following the recommendation of its Committee on International Trade, Parliament gave its consent to the conclusion of the agreement .

Under the Agreement, the Parties agree agreed to promote between each other the harmonious development of geographical indications as defined in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and to foster trade in agricultural products and foodstuffs with geographical indications originating in the Parties' territories.

The Committee on International Trade adopted the report by David BORRELLI (EFDD, IT) on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs.

The committee recommended that Parliament give its consent to the conclusion of the agreement.

In the short explanatory statement accompanying the report, it is recalled that the conclusion of the agreement is part of the overall strategy of the European Union to promote the production and consumption of European products with geographical indications (GIs).

Under the negotiated geographical agreement, 1 150 EU foodstuff GIs will be protected in Iceland as in the rest of the EU against: (i) any direct or indirect commercial use; (ii) any misuse, imitation or evocation of the product; (iii) any other false or misleading indication as to the provenance, origin, nature or essential qualities of the product; (iv) any other practice liable to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product.

PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

BACKGROUND: the EU and Iceland are signatories to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA Agreement). This Agreement provides for the free movement of goods, with the exception of agricultural and fisheries products. This Agreement provides that the contracting Parties shall undertake to continue their efforts to achieve progressive liberalisation of agricultural trade between them. Article 19 of the EEA Agreement contains provisions on trade in agricultural products. The 2007 EU-Iceland bilateral Agreement on trade preferences negotiated on the basis of Article 19 of the EEA Agreement includes among others a commitment by the Parties to promote trade in products with geographical indications (GIs).

The Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs was signed by the Commission subject to its conclusion at a later date. The Agreement should now be approved.

CONTENT: the draft Council decision seeks the approval, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs.

The Parties agreed to promote between each other the harmonious development of geographical indications as defined in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and to foster trade in agricultural products and foodstuffs with geographical indications originating in the Parties' territories.

Under the negotiated GIs Agreement, 1 150 EU foodstuff GIs will be protected in Iceland.

Iceland has not yet registered any protected GI names. The Agreement provides, however, a mechanism for updating the GIs list and for including new GI names at a later stage through a Joint Committee process.

PURPOSE: to conclude the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

BACKGROUND: the EU and Iceland are signatories to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA Agreement). This Agreement provides for the free movement of goods, with the exception of agricultural and fisheries products. This Agreement provides that the contracting Parties shall undertake to continue their efforts to achieve progressive liberalisation of agricultural trade between them. Article 19 of the EEA Agreement contains provisions on trade in agricultural products. The 2007 EU-Iceland bilateral Agreement on trade preferences negotiated on the basis of Article 19 of the EEA Agreement includes among others a commitment by the Parties to promote trade in products with geographical indications (GIs).

The Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs was signed by the Commission subject to its conclusion at a later date. The Agreement should now be approved.

CONTENT: the draft Council decision seeks the approval, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs.

The Parties agreed to promote between each other the harmonious development of geographical indications as defined in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and to foster trade in agricultural products and foodstuffs with geographical indications originating in the Parties' territories.

Under the negotiated GIs Agreement, 1 150 EU foodstuff GIs will be protected in Iceland.

Iceland has not yet registered any protected GI names. The Agreement provides, however, a mechanism for updating the GIs list and for including new GI names at a later stage through a Joint Committee process.

PURPOSE: to conclude an agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

BACKGROUND: Article 19 of the European Economic Area Agreement (EEA Agreement) contains provisions on trade in agricultural products. The 2007 EU-Iceland bilateral Agreement on trade preferences includes, among others, a commitment by the Parties to promote trade in products with geographical indications (GIs).

The EU-Iceland GIs negotiations were conducted from 4 July 2012 to 17 September 2015. The negotiations were carried out in conjunction with the EU-Iceland negotiations on further liberalisation of trade in agricultural and processed agricultural products.

The conclusion of the GIs Agreement with Iceland fits into the overall EU strategy of promoting the production and the consumption of EU products with GIs.

CONTENT: the Commission proposed that the Council adopt a decision, approving on behalf of the European Union, the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs.

Under this Agreement, 1 150 EU foodstuff GIs will obtain a high level of direct protection in Iceland.

The GIs will be protected against:

any direct or indirect commercial use; any misuse, imitation or evocation of the product; any other false or misleading indication as to the provenance, origin, nature or essential qualities of the product; any other practice liable to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product.

Iceland has not yet registered any protected GI names.

The Agreement provides, however, a mechanism for updating the GIs list and for including new GI names at a later stage through a Joint Committee process

The EEA Agreement already provides for the mutual recognition and protection of geographical indications for wines, aromatised wine products and spirit drinks. Therefore the scope of this Agreement covers only agricultural products and foodstuffs other than wines, aromatised wine products and spirit drinks .

The GIs Agreement will enter into force on the first day of the month following the date on which the Parties have notified each other that their respective internal adoption procedures have been completed.