EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/206

(2004/C 88 E/0214)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0724/04

by María Herranz García (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(11 March 2004)

Subject: Rules on labelling wines

After years of negotiating with the USA and other third countries on protecting Community wine appellations and radical EU opposition to any usurping of these appellations by third countries, the Commission has finally decided that, despite all the efforts made in the past, it is giving in to external pressure. It has legitimised this usurpatory behaviour by adopting an amendment to the rules on wine labelling in the Management Committee, despite the fact that the main producer countries voted against.

From now on, any third country that can prove that for at least ten years it has been usurping traditional terms such as gran reserva and crianza cannot only continue to do so, but can now market its products, using these terms, in the EU.

Why has the Commission made this 180° turn, which could well weaken our position in the WTO negotiations to safeguard our geographical appellations? What pay-off does the Commission expect from this decision?

While it is true that some countries have lodged complaints with the WTO against the Community rules on wine labelling adopted in 2002, why did the Commission not at the very least wait to find out what the WTO has to say on the issue?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(19 April 2004)

We adopted new rules on the description, designation and protection of certain wine sector products in order to avert the possibility of a World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel. This would have been a serious threat to European wine labelling policy.

Following notification of Regulation (EC) No 753/2002 (1) to the World Trade Organisation, several third countries sent their observations and expressed reservations to the WTO. Two consultations were held in Geneva. Exclusive protection of certain traditional terms (List B) was regarded by the third countries as a new intellectual property right of the Union covered by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (additional to that for geographical indications). A WTO panel might well have jeopardised EU policy on protection of geographical indications and was to be avoided.

In the light of the third country observations we decided to make a number of changes to the Regulation. Primarily the changes give third countries the possibility of using certain traditional terms subject to compliance with the same rules as those for Member States. Account also had to be taken of the fact that several third countries do not have a centralised regulatory system for the wine sector. The European legislative system requirements were therefore amended and the concept of ‘regulation’ replaced by that of ‘applicable rules’. These rules include those issued by representative trade organisations and these organisations were themselves defined.

It is important to remember that unlike Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 753/2002 Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 (2) makes no reference to two types of traditional term but only to the possibility open to the Commission of adopting rules on traditional terms that accord with the provisions in force in the Member States.

The new requirements for third countries' use of Community traditional terms are the equivalent of the requirements already in force for the traditional terms of List A in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 753/2002.

They include (see Article 1(10) of Regulation (EC) No 316/2004 (3) amending Article 37(1)(e) of Regulation (EC) No 753/2002) the following:

— the third country must present a substantiated request to the Commission and provide the justificatory data for recognition of the traditional term;

— the language of the traditional term must be the official language of the third country and the term in that language must have been used for at least 10 years;

— if the language of the traditional term is not the official language, its use must be provided for in the country's legislation; in such cases the traditional term in that language must have been used continuously for at least 25 years;

— other requirements such as that the term be specific and distinctive and that there is no risk of consumers being misled.

In the case of the Spanish traditional terms Gran Reserva and Crianza referred to in the written question, the requirements for their use in the Community by third countries remain unchanged, since they were already included in List A in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 753/2002.

(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 753/2002 of 29 April 2002 laying down certain rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 as regards the description, designation, presentation and protection of certain wine sector products, OJ L 118, 4.5.2002.

(2) Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine, OJ L 179, 14.7.1999.

(3) Commission Regulation (EC) No 316/2004 of 20 February 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 753/2002 laying down certain rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 as regards the description, designation, presentation and protection of certain wine sector products, OJ L 55, 24.2.2004.