COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2019/674

of 29 April 2019

amending Annex III to 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 EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard 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 (1), and in particular Article 20(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Pursuant to Article 20(1) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, Member States submitted technical files for 243 out of 330 established geographical indications for spirit drinks.

(2) In accordance with Article 9(1) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2013 (2), the Commission assessed the technical files based on the requirements laid down in Article 15(1) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, and set a time period for the amendment or withdrawal of those technical files by the Member State concerned.

(3) The technical files of ‘Königsberger Bärenfang’, ‘Grappa di Marsala’, ‘Kirsch Veneto’/‘Kirschwasser Veneto’ and ‘Sliwovitz del Veneto’ were withdrawn by Germany and Italy respectively.

(4) In accordance with Article 9(2) of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2013, if the deficiencies found in the technical file of an established geographical indication submitted following Article 20(1) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 are not remedied by the Member State within the time period set out by the Commission, that technical file is to be deemed as not submitted.

(5) The deficiencies found in the technical files of ‘Karlovarská Hořká’, ‘Polish Cherry’, ‘Orehovec’, ‘Janeževec’ and ‘Slovenska travarica’ were not remedied.

(6) The established geographical indications ‘Karlovarská Hořká’, ‘Königsberger Bärenfang’, ‘Grappa di Marsala’, ‘Kirsch Veneto’/‘Kirschwasser Veneto’, ‘Sliwovitz del Veneto’, ‘Polish Cherry’, ‘Orehovec’, ‘Janeževec’ and ‘Slovenska travarica’ should therefore be removed from Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 110/2008.

(7) Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(8) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Spirit Drinks,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2 This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 29 April 2019. For the Commission The President Jean-Claude JUNCKER

(1) OJ L 39, 13.2.2008, p. 16.

(2) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2013 of 25 July 2013 laying down rules for the application 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 (OJ L 201, 26.7.2013, p. 21).