COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2022/540

of 1 April 2022

establishing a list of geographical indications protected under Regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council to be filed as applications for international registration pursuant to Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1753 of the European Parliament and of the Council

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1753 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the action of the Union following its accession to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications (1), and in particular Article 2(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications (2) (‘the Geneva Act’) is an international agreement under which the Contracting Parties implement a system of mutual protection of appellations of origin and geographical indications.

(2) Following Council Decision (EU) 2019/1754 (3) on the accession of the Union to the Geneva Act, the Union deposited the instrument of accession to the Geneva Act on 26 November 2019. The accession of the Union to the Geneva Act took effect on 26 February 2020. Since the Union was the fifth Contracting Party acceding to the Geneva Act, the Geneva Act entered into force on that same date, in accordance with Article 29(2) of the Geneva Act.

(3) In accordance with Article 5(1) and (2) of the Geneva Act, the Competent Authorities of each Contracting Party to the Geneva Act may file applications for international registration of an appellation of origin or geographical indication with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization, which registers it in the International Register. In accordance with Article 9 of the Geneva Act, the other Contracting Parties may decide whether to protect that appellation of origin or geographical indication in their territories at the end and in the light of a specific screening procedure.

(4) In accordance with Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1753, for the purposes of that Regulation and of the acts adopted pursuant thereto, the term ‘geographical indications’ covers the geographical indications within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4).

(5) In accordance with Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1753, as the Competent Authority of the Union, the Commission is empowered to file applications for international registration of Union appellations of origin and geographical indications with the International Bureau upon the accession of the Union to the Geneva Act and thereafter on a regular basis.

(6) Between October and November 2021, Member States sent to the Commission, in accordance with Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1753, three requests to register in the International Register geographical indications that originate in their territory and that are protected in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/787.

(7) Names protected in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/787 as geographical indications should be filed as applications for registration in the International Register as geographical indications.

(8) A list of geographical indications, based on those requests of the Member States to the Commission to file applications for international registration of geographical indications that originate in their territory and that are protected in the Union in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/787, should therefore be established.

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

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Sole Article A list of geographical indications protected under Regulation (EU) 2019/787 to be filed as applications for international registrationby the Commission is established in the Annex to this Decision.

Done at Brussels, 1 April 2022. For the Commission Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 271, 24.10.2019, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 271, 24.10.2019, p. 15.

(3) Council Decision (EU) 2019/1754 of 7 October 2019 on the accession of the European Union to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications (OJ L 271, 24.10.2019, p. 12).

(4) Regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the definition, description, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks, the use of the names of spirit drinks in the presentation and labelling of other foodstuffs, the protection of geographical indications for spirit drinks, the use of ethyl alcohol and distillates of agricultural origin in alcoholic beverages, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 (OJ L 130, 17.5.2019, p. 1).