Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2018:866
Date: 2018-10-25
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Ninth Chamber
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Alcohol;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property;Consumer protection;Approximation of laws
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber), 25 October 2018 Approximation of laws — Uniform legislation — Definition, description, presentation, labelling and protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks — Regulation No 110/2008 — Spirit drinks — Egg liqueur — Delimitation — Exhaustive nature of the permissible components (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 110/2008, as amended by Regulation No 1334/2008, Annex II, category 41) Category 41 of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2008 on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008, must be interpreted as meaning that, in order to be able to bear the sales denomination ‘egg liqueur’, a spirit drink cannot contain ingredients other than those mentioned in that provision. The definitions contained in that annex are precisely specific measures on the description and presentation of spirit drinks, referred to in the preceding paragraph. As those definitions are therefore at the heart of the system established by Regulation No 110/2008, and as their accuracy must serve the aim, also set out in the preceding paragraph, of avoiding the misuse of names of spirit drinks, they must be interpreted restrictively, lest the scheme be weakened. In those circumstances, the possibility of adding other ingredients to those listed in those definitions could be permissible only if expressly provided for therein. This is not the case with regard to category 41 of Annex II to Regulation No 110/2008, which does not mention the possibility of adding ingredients other than those listed under category 41(a) of that annex. Apart from those ingredients, only the use of certain flavouring substances and preparations is expressly provided for, in the circumstances set out in category 41(c) of that annex. Milk, however, cannot be classified as a flavouring ‘substance’ or ‘preparation’. (see paras 23, 24, 30, operative part)