EN    EN  
 EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION  
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2012) XXX  draft 
  
COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No …/.. 
of XXX  
laying down detailed rules for the implementation of certain provisions of Regulation 
(EC) No 110/2008 of the European Parliame nt and of the Council on the definition, 
description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of 
spirit drinks 
 
Ref. Ares(2013)383238 - 21/03/2013EN 2   EN COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No …/.. 
of XXX  
laying down detailed rules for the implementati on of certain provisions of Regulation (EC) 
No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the definition, description, 
presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks 
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,  
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,  Having regard to Regulation (EC)  No 110/2008 of the European Par liament and of the Council of 
15 January 2008 on the definition, description, presentation, labe lling and the protection of 
geographical indicati ons of spirit drinks
1, and in particular Article 24 (3) and Article 27 thereof,  
Whereas: (1) In order to clarify certain provisions of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 and to ensure their 
uniform implementation in the Member Stat es, detailed rules should be adopted, in 
particular as regards the use of compound te rms, allusions, sales denominations and 
geographical indications for the presentation of spirit drinks. 
(2) According to Article 10(1) and (2) of Re gulation (EC) No 110/2008, a spirit drink or 
another foodstuff may, under ce rtain conditions, bear in its  presentation a compound term 
or an allusion which in cludes the name of one of the ca tegories listed in  Annex II to 
Regulation (EC) 110/2008 or one of the geogra phical indications list ed in Annex III to 
that Regulation. In order to ensure the uniform use of co mpound terms and allusions in 
Member States, it is necessary to establis h detailed rules of their usage for the 
presentation of spirit drinks and other foodstuffs.  
(3) When reference is made to a certain spirit dr ink in the presentation of a foodstuff, that 
spirit drink must fully comply with Regulati on (EC) No 110/2008 and not be diluted. It is 
necessary to clarify the meaning of the term 'dilution' when referred to spirit drinks, since certain manufacturing processes should  not be considered as dilution.  
(4) To ensure that the conditions for the registra tion of geographical indications laid down in 
Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 are met, applicati ons for registration sh ould be examined 
by the Commission and detailed implementi ng rules on the application, examination, 
objection and cancellation procedur es for geographical indications  of spirit drinks should 
                                                
 
1 OJ L 39, 13.2.2008, p. 16. EN 3   EN be established. To ensure a uniform implem entation of those rules, models should be 
drawn up for the application for registration, the technical file, statement of objection, 
amendment of the technical file and cancellation of a geogr aphical indication. 
(5) In order to facilitate communication betw een the Commission and Member States and 
third countries in relation to  registered geographical indica tions, Member States and third 
countries should communicate to the Commissi on the main specifications of the technical 
files of their geographical indications, besides the complete technical files. 
(6) Restrictions concerning the packaging of a spirit drink with a geographical indication, 
such as the obligation to package the spirit dr ink in a defined geographical area, constitute 
restrictions to the fr ee movement of goods and the freed om to provide services. Such 
restrictions should only be allowed if they  are necessary, proportionate and suitable to 
protect the reputation of the geographical indication. 
(7) A Union symbol for geographical indications of spirit drinks should be established in 
order to enable the consumer to identify certain spirit drinks the characteristics of which 
are linked to the origin of the drinks. 
(8) Considering the time needed by the Member States to implement the measures provided 
for in this Regulation, the application of  this Regulation should be deferred. 
(9) The measures established in this Regulati on are in accordance with the opinion of the 
Committee for Spirit Drinks, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:  
CHAPTER I 
SUBJECT MATTER AND DEFINITIONS 
Article 1 
 
Subject matter  
This Regulation lays down detailed rules for the implementation of Re gulation (EC) No 110/2008 
as regards in particular:  
(a) the use of compound terms and allusions as referred to in Article 10 of Regulation (EC) 
No 110/2008 in the description, presenta tion and labelling of a foodstuff;  
(b) the geographical indications of  the spirit drinks referred to  in Article 15 of Regulation 
(EC) No 110/2008 and the use of a Union sy mbol for the geographi cal indications of 
spirit drinks. EN 4   EN Article 2 
 
Definitions  
For the purpose of this Regulation: 
(a) 'spirit drink category' means one of the categories 1 to 46 of Annex II to 
Regulation (EC) No 110/2008; 
(b) 'geographical indication' means one of the geographical indicat ions registered in 
Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 110/2008; 
(c) 'compound term' means the combination of a term listed in categories 1 to 46 of 
Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 or a geographical indica tion of a spirit 
drink, from which all the alcohol of the final product originates, with: 
(i) the name of one or more foodstuffs other than those used for the production 
of that spirit drink in accordance with Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 
110/2008, or adjectives deriving from those names, and/or 
(ii) the term 'liqueur' ;  
(d) 'allusion' means the direct or indirect  reference to one or more spirit drink 
categories or geographical indications, other than th e reference in a compound 
term or list of ingredients referred to in Article 9(9) of Regulation (EC) No 
110/2008. 
CHAPTER II 
RULES ON THE USE OF COMP OUND TERMS AND ALLUSION 
Article 3 
 
Compound  terms  
1. The term 'spirit drink' shall not be part  of a compound term describing an alcoholic 
beverage.  
2. A compound term describing an alcoholic beverage shall not consist of a combination of 
the term 'liqueur' with the name of one of the categories 33 to  40 of Annex II to 
Regulation (EC) No 110/2008. 
3. A compound term shall not replace the sales denomination of a spirit drink. EN 5   EN 4. The compound term describing an alcoholic be verage shall appear in uniform characters 
of the same font, size and col our. It shall not be interrupted  by any textual or pictorial 
element which does not form part of it and shall not appear in a larger font size than that 
of the sales denomination. 
Article 4 
 
Allusions  
The allusion to any spirit drink category or ge ographical indication, for the presentation of a 
foodstuff, shall not be in the same line as the sales denomination. For alcoholic beverages, the 
allusion shall appear in a font size smaller than those used for the sales denomination and 
compound term.  
Article 5 
 
Dilution of a spirit drink  
For the purpose of Article 10(2) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, the reduction of the alcoholic 
strength of a spirit drink below the minimum alcoho lic strength established for that spirit drink in 
the corresponding category in Annex II to that Re gulation, exclusively by th e addition of water, 
shall be considered as dilution. 
CHAPTER III 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS 
Article 6 
 
Application for the registration  of a geographical indication  
The application for registration of  a geographical indication in A nnex III to Regulation (EC) No 
110/2008 shall be submitted to the Commission and consist of: 
(a) the application form, according to the mode l set out in Annex I to this Regulation; 
(b) the technical file, according to the mode l set out in Annex II to this Regulation; 
(c) the main specifications of the techni cal file referred to in point (b). EN 6   EN Article 7 
 
Trans-border applications  
1. Where a trans-border geographical indication involves only Member States, the relevant 
application shall be submitted jointly or by one of the Member States in the name of the others. In the latter case, the application sha ll include a document fr om each of the other 
Member States concerned authorising the Me mber State forwarding the application to 
act on its behalf. 
Where a trans-border geographica l indication involves only third countries, the relevant 
application shall be submitted to the Commission either by one of the applicants on behalf of the others or by one of the third countries on behalf of the others and shall 
include:  
(a) the proof of protection in th e third countries concerned, and 
(b) a document from each of the other third countries concerned au thorising the third 
country submitting the applica tion to act on its behalf. 
Where a trans-border geographical indication in volves at least one Member State and at 
least one third country, the application shall be submitted to the Commission by one of the Member States, third-country authorities or  private entities from the third country in 
question and shall include: 
(a) the proof of protection in th e third countries concerned, and 
(b) a document from each of the Member States or third countries concerned 
authorising the party forwarding the application to act on its behalf. 
2. The Member State or the third-country authority or the private entity from the third 
country in question which submits to the Commission a trans-border application shall 
become the consignee of any notificati on or decision issued by the Commission. 
Article 8 
 
Receipt of the application  
1. The date of submission of an application shall be the date of its receipt by the 
Commission.  
2. The Member State or the third-country authority or the private entity from the third 
country in question shall receive an acknowle dgement of receipt indicating at least the 
following: 
(a) the file number;  EN 7   EN (b) the name to be registered;  
(c) the number of pages received;  
(d) the date of receipt of the application.  
Article 9 
 
Established geographical indications  
1. If the technical file for an establishe d geographical indication, submitted pursuant to 
Article 20(1) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 does not demonstrate that the requirements laid down in Article 15(1) of that Regulation are fulfilled, the Commission 
shall set a time period for its amendment or withdrawal or for the submission of 
comments by the Member State.  
2. If such deficiencies are not remedied by the Member State within the time period 
referred to in the first paragraph, the technica l file shall be deemed  not to have been 
submitted and Article 20(3) of Regul ation (EC) No 110/2008 shall apply . 
Article 10 
 
Packaging in the geographical area concerned  
If the technical file sets out that packaging of  the spirit drink must take place within the 
demarcated geographical area or in an area in its immediate proximity, justification for this 
requirement shall be given in re spect of the product concerned. 
Article 11 
 
Admissibility of the application  
1. The application is admissible if it consists of all the elements referred to in Article 6. 
2. If the application is not complete the Co mmission shall invite the applicant to remedy 
the deficiency within a period of two months. If the deficiency is not remedied within 
that time limit, the Commission shall rej ect the application as inadmissible.  
Article 12  
 
Scrutiny of the conditions of validity  
1. If a geographical indication does not comply with Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 
110/2008 or if the application for registration do es not meet the requirements laid down EN 8   EN in Article  17 of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, the Commission shall set a time period 
for its amendment or withdrawal or for the submission of comments by the Member 
State, the third-country author ity or the private entity from the third country in question. 
2. If the deficiencies are not remedied by the Member State, the third-country authority or 
the private entity from the third country in question within the time period referred to in 
paragraph 1, the Commission sh all reject the application. 
Article 13 
 
Objection to the registration  
1. Objections referred to in Article 17(7) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 shall be drawn 
up in accordance with the form set out in A nnex III to this Regulation and submitted to 
the Commission. The date of submission of the objection shall be the date of its receipt 
by the Commission.  
2. The objector shall receive an acknowledgeme nt of receipt indicating at least the 
following: 
(a) the file number; (b) the number of pages received; (c) the date of receipt of the objection. 
Article 14 
 
Admissibility of an objection  
1. The objection is admissible if it mentions th e prior right(s) claimed, where relevant, and 
the ground(s) for the objection and it was recei ved within the time period referred to in 
Article 17(7) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008. 
2. If the objection is based on the existence of an earlier trademark of reputation and 
renown already used in the Union, in accordan ce with Article 23(3)  of Regulation (EC) 
No 110/2008, it shall be accompanied by proof of the filing of an  application for 
registration, registration or use of  that trademark, such as the certificate of registration or 
proof of its use, and proof of its reputation and renown. 
3. Any objection shall contain details of the facts, evidence and comments submitted in 
support of the objection and be accompanied by the relevant supporting documents. 
The information and evidence produced in s upport of the use of an earlier trademark 
shall refer to location, durati on, extent and nature of us e and of its reputation and 
renown. EN 9   EN 4. If the information and the documents referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 have not been 
produced, the Commission shall invite the obje ctor to remedy the deficiencies within a 
period of two months. If the deficiencies ar e not remedied within the time limit, the 
Commission shall reject the objection as inadmissible. 
Article 15 
 
Scrutiny of an objection  
1. If the objection is admissible, the Comm ission shall communicate it to the Member 
State, the third-country authority or the priv ate entity from the third country in question 
and invite them to file observations with in a period of two m onths. Any observations 
received within this time period shall be communicated to the objector. 
2. The Commission shall request the partie s to submit comments on the observations 
received from the other parties within a period of two months. 
3. If the Commission considers that the objectio n is founded, it shall reject the application 
for registration. 
4. If, in the event of multiple objections, following a preliminary examination of one or 
more such objections, it may not be possi ble to accept the applic ation for registration, 
the Commission may suspend the other ob jection procedures. The Commission shall 
inform the other objectors of  any decision affecting them. 
5. Where an application for registration is re jected, objection procedur es which have been 
suspended shall be deemed to be closed and the objectors concerned shall be duly 
informed. 
Article 16 
 
Decisions of the Commission  
1. Decisions taken by the Commission pursuant to Articles 9(2), 11(2), 12(2) and 15(3) 
shall be based on the documents and information available to it.  
The decisions, including grounds for them, shall be notified to the Member State, the 
third-country authority or the private entity from the third country in question, and, if 
appropriate, to the objector. 
2. Unless the application for the registration of a geographical indi cation is rejected 
pursuant to Articles 11(2), 12(2) and 15(3)  of this Regulation, the Commission shall 
decide pursuant to Articl e 17(8) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 to register the 
geographical indication in A nnex III to that Regulation. EN 10   EN Article 17 
 
Use of languages  
The geographical indication shall be  registered in the language(s) us ed to describe the product in 
question in the geographical area concerne d and with its orig inal spelling.  
Article 18 
 
Submission of a request for cancellation  
1. A request for cancellation of a geographical indication shall be dr awn up in accordance 
with the form set out in Annex IV and shall be submitted to the Commission. The date of submission of the request for cancellation shall be the date of its receipt by the 
Commission.  
2. The author of the request for cancellation shall receive an acknowledgement of receipt 
indicating at least: 
(a) the file number; (b) the number of pages received; and (c) the date of receipt of the request. 
Article 19 
 
Admissibility of a req uest for cancellation  
1. A request for cancellation is admissible, if it  clearly states the legitimate interest of the 
author of the request for cancellation  and  e xplains the ground(s) for  such cancellation. 
2. Any request for cancellation shall contain details of the facts, evidence and comments 
submitted in support of cancellati on. It shall be accompanied by the relevant supporting 
documents and in particular, by a statement fr om the Member State or the third-country 
authority where the residence or registered offi ce of the author of th e request is located. 
3. If the information and documents referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 have not been 
provided at the same time as the request for cancellation, the Commission shall invite 
the author of the request to remedy the defici encies within a period of two months. If the 
deficiencies are not remedied within the time limit, the Commission shall reject the request as inadmissible.  
The Commission shall notify the author of th e request for cancellation as well as the 
Member State, the third-country authority or  the private entity from the third country, EN 11   EN whose geographical indication is  affected by the request for cancellation, of the decision 
of inadmissibility.  
4.  
Article 20 
 
Scrutiny of a cancellation  
1. If the Commission has not rejected the re quest for cancellation in  accordance with 
Article 19(3), it shall communicate the request to the Member State or the third-country 
authority or private entity from the thir d country, whose geographical indication is 
affected by the request for can cellation, and invite them to file observations within a 
deadline of two months. Any observation re ceived within this time limit shall be 
communicated to the author of the request for cancellation.  
2. The Commission shall decide on a cancellati on if the Member State, third-country 
authority or private entity from the third country in question does not file any observation or does not comply with the two-month time limit.  
3. Any decision to cancel the geographical in dication concerned shal l be taken by the 
Commission on the basis of the evidence avai lable to it after the expiration of the 
deadline for submission of observations. It sh all consider whether compliance with the 
technical file of the geographical indicati on is no longer possible or can no longer be 
guaranteed, particularly if the conditions laid down in Arti cle 17 of Regulation (EC) No 
110/2008 are no longer fulfilled or may no longe r be fulfilled in the near future.  
Such decision on cancellation shall be notified to the Member State, the third-country 
authority or the private entity  from the third country in qu estion or the author of the 
request for cancellation.  
4. If more than one request for cancellati on concerning the same geographical indication 
has been submitted and, after a preliminary examination of one or more of those requests, the Commission decides that it is no  longer justified to pr otect the geographical 
indication, it may suspend other cancellati on procedures concerning that geographical 
indication. It shall inform the other author s of the requests for cancellation of any 
decision affecting them. 
If a geographical indication is cancelled, th e Commission shall close the cancellation 
procedures which have been suspended and in form the other authors of the request for 
cancellation accordingly.  
Article 21 
Amendment of the technical file EN 12   EN 1. An application for the amendment of the technical file related to a registered 
geographical indication, as re ferred to in Article 21 of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, 
shall be drawn up in accordance with Annex V to this Regulation and submitted in electronic format.  
2. For the purposes of the application referred to in paragraph 1, Articles 8 to 15 of this 
Regulation shall apply mutatis mutandis . These procedures shall only concern the points 
of the technical file which are the subject of the amendment.  
3. Where the application for the amendment of the technical file is submitted by an 
applicant other than the initial appli cant, the Commission shall communicate the 
application to the initial applicant. 
Article 22 
 
Use of a Union symbol for regis tered geographical indications  
1. The Union symbol for registered geographi cal indications estab lished in Annex V to 
Commission Regulati on (EC) No 1898/2006
2 may be used for spirit drinks. That symbol 
may not be used together with a compound term including  a geographical indication. 
The indication "PROTECTED GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION" may be replaced by 
the equivalent terms in another official la nguage of the Union as laid down in that 
Annex.  
2. Where the Union symbol referred to in paragr aph 1 appears on the label of a spirit drink, 
it shall be accompanied by the co rresponding geographical indication. 
CHAPTER IV 
FINAL PROVISIONS 
Article 23 
 
Entry into force and application  
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following that of its publication in the 
Official Journal of the European Union .  
It shall apply from ….(6 months). 
This Regulation shall be binding in  its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.  
                                                 
2 OJ L 369, 23.12.2006, p. 1 EN 13   EN Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission  
 …  Member of the Commission  EN 14   EN ANNEX I  
APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF A GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION 
Date of receipt (DD/MM/YYYY)  
[to be completed by the Commission]  
Number of pages (including this page) .. 
Language used for submission of application .. File number .. 
[to be completed by the Commission]  
Geographical indication to be registered .. 
Category of the spirit drink  
Applicant  
Name of legal or natural person .. 
Full address (street number and name, town/city and posta l code, country) .. 
Legal status, size and composition (in the case of legal persons) .. 
Nationality .. Tel, e-mail .. 
Intermediary  
Member State(s) (*) — 
Third-country authority (*) 
[(*) delete as appropriate] Name(s) of intermediary(ies) .. Full address(es) (street number and name , town/city and postal code, country) .. 
Tel, e-mail ..  
Proof of protection in third country .. 
Technical file EN 15   EN Number of pages .. 
Name(s) of signatory(ies) .. Signature(s) .. EN 16   EN ANNEX II  
TECHNICAL FILE 
Date of receipt (DD/MM/YYYY) .. 
[to be completed by the Commission]  
Number of pages (including this page) .. 
Language used for submission of application .. File number .. 
[to be completed by the Commission]  
Geographical indication to be registered .. 
Category of the spirit drink  
Description of the spirit drink 
- Physical, chemical and/or organoleptic characteristics 
- Specific characteristics (compared to spirit drinks of the same category) 
Geographical area concerned 
Method for obtaining the spirit drink Link with the geographica l environment or origin 
Details of the geographical area or  origin relevant to the link 
Specific characteristics of the spirit dri nk attributable to the geographical area 
European Union or national/regional provisions 
Applicant  
- Member State, Third Country  or legal/natural person .. 
- Full address (street number and name , town/city and postal code, country) .. 
- Legal status (in the case of legal persons) .. 
Supplement to the geographical indication 
Specific labelling rules (a s referred to in Article 10(2) of this Regulation)  EN 17   EN ANNEX III   
REQUEST OF OBJECTION TO A GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION 
Date of receipt (DD/MM/YYYY) .. 
[to be completed by the Commission] 
Number of pages (including this page) .. 
Language of request of objection .. File number .. 
[to be completed by the Commission]  
Objector  
Name of legal or natural person .. 
Full address (street number and name, town/city and posta l code, country) .. 
Nationality .. Tel, e-mail .. 
Intermediary  
Member State(s) (*)  
Third-country author ity (optional) (*) 
[(*) delete as appropriate] Name(s) of intermediary(ies) .. 
Full address(es) (street number and name , town/city and postal code, country) .. 
Objected geographical indication .. 
Prior rights  
Registered geographi cal indication (*)  
National geographical indication (*) [(*) delete as appropriate] Name .. EN 18   EN Registration number .. 
Date of registration (DD/MM/YYYY) .. — Trademark Sign .. List of products and services .. Registration number .. Date of registration .. Country of origin .. Reputation/renown (*) .. [(*) delete as appropriate] 
Grounds for objection  
Name of signatory .. 
Signature ..EN 19   EN ANNEX IV   
REQUEST OF CANCELLATION OF A GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION 
 
Date of receipt (DD/MM/YYYY) .. 
[to be completed by the Commission] 
Number of pages (including this page) .. 
Author of request of cancellation .. File number .. 
[to be completed by the Commission]  
Language of request of cancellation  .. 
Name of legal or natural person .. Full address (street number and name, town/city and postal code, country) .. 
Nationality .. Tel, e-mail .. 
Contested geographical indication ..  
Legitimate interest of th e author of the request .. 
Statement by the Member State or third country .. 
Grounds for cancellation  
Name of signatory .. 
Signature .. EN 20   EN ANNEX V   
APPLICATION FOR THE AMENDMENT OF THE TECHNICAL FILE OF A 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION 
Date of receipt (DD/MM/YYYY) .. 
[to be completed by the Commission]  
Number of pages (including this page) .. 
Language of amendment .. File number .. 
[to be completed by the Commission]  
Intermediary  
Member State(s) (*) — 
Third-country author ity (optional) (*) 
[(*) delete as appropriate] Name(s) of intermediary(ies) .. Full address(es) (street number and name , town/city and postal code, country) .. 
Tel, e-mail .. 
Name of the geographical indication  
Specification heading affected by the amendment  
Protected name (*) 
Description of product (*) Geographical area (*) Link (*) Names and addresses of control authorities (*) 
Other (*) [(*) delete as appropriate] 
Amendment  
Amendment to the product specification not  entailing an amendment of the main 
specifications (*) EN 21   EN Amendment to the product specification entaili ng an amendment to the main specifications(*) 
[(*) delete as appropriate] — 
Explanation of the amendment .. 
Amended main specifications  
[on separate sheet]  
Name of signatory .. 
Signature ..