Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Regulation (EC) No 866/2004 on a regime under Article 2 of Protocol 10 to the Act of Accession as regards goods covered by quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs
Date: 2015-07-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission
Subjects: Cyprus, cheese, consumer information, designation of origin, foodstuff, labelling, national unification, product designation, quality control of agricultural products

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 28.7.2015  
COM(2015) 380 final 

2015/0165 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Regulation (EC) No 866/2004 on a regime under Article 2 of Protocol 10 to the 
Act of Accession as regards goods covered by quality schemes for agricultural products 
and foodstuffs 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004 ("the Green Line Regulation") lays down special rules 
concerning goods, services and persons crossing the line between the areas of the Republic of 
Cyprus  in  which  the  Government  of  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  does  not  exercise  effective 
control and those areas of the Republic of Cyprus in which the Government of the Republic of 
Cyprus exercises effective control.  

Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council lays down a 
regime on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs, from which the covered 
products may benefit when placed in the EU market.  

The present amendment establishes the manner in which, pending the reunification of Cyprus, 
the control mechanism regarding goods covered by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 for which 
the geographical scope includes areas of the Republic of Cyprus where the Government of the 
Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control would be applied in the said areas.  

At  this  stage,  the  present  amendment  will  only  cover  Halloumi/Hellim  for  which  the 
Commission  has  received  an  application  for  the  registration  as  a  Protected  Designation  of 
Origin.  For  this  purpose,  the  present  amendment  takes  into  account  and  it  is  based  on  the 
Common  Understanding  on  a  temporary  solution  for  Halloumi/Hellim,  to  be  implemented 
pending the reunification of Cyprus, reached under the guidance of President Juncker during 
his visit to Cyprus last 16 July 20151. However, the present amendment will equally apply to 
other  possible  future  applications  for  the  registration  of  names  under  Regulation  (EU)  No 
1151/2012 for which the geographical scope includes areas of the Republic of Cyprus where 
the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control. 

2. 

RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND 
IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

The  Commission  has  consulted  with  the  Government  of  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  and  has 
received input from numerous stakeholders. 

3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  Regulation  lies  down  that,  with  regard  to  goods  covered  by  a  name  registered  under 
Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down a 
regime  on  quality  schemes  for  agricultural  products  and  foodstuffs,  and  for  which  the 
geographical  scope  includes  areas  of  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  where  the  Government  of  the 
Republic  of  Cyprus  does  not  exercise  effective  control,  a  control  body  pursuant  to  Article 
39(1)  of  that  Regulation  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  those  tasks  in  the  areas  of  the 
Republic  of  Cyprus  where  the  Government  of  the  Republic  of  Cyprus  does  not  exercise 
effective control shall perform the tasks foreseen in this Article.  

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http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEX-15-5402_en.htm 

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2015/0165 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Regulation (EC) No 866/2004 on a regime under Article 2 of Protocol 10 to the 
Act of Accession as regards goods covered by quality schemes for agricultural products 
and foodstuffs 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
Having regard to Protocol No 10 on Cyprus2 to the 2003 Act of Accession, and in particular 
Article 2 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Acting in accordance with a special legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  866/20043  lays  down  special  rules  concerning  goods, 
services and persons crossing the line between the areas of the Republic of Cyprus in 
which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control 
and those areas of the Republic of Cyprus in which the Government of the Republic of 
Cyprus exercises effective control.  
Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council4 lays 
down  a  regime  on  quality  schemes  for  agricultural  products  and  foodstuffs,  from 
which the covered products may benefit when placed in the EU market. 

Article 3 of Protocol No 10 on Cyprus states that nothing in it shall preclude measures 
with a view to promoting the economic development of those areas.   

Pending  the  reunification  of  Cyprus,  the  manner  in  which  the  control  mechanism 
regarding  goods  covered  by  Regulation  (EU)  No  1151/2012  for  which  the 
geographical scope includes areas of the Republic of Cyprus where the Government of 
the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control would be applied in the said 
areas, needs to be established.  

A  Common  Understanding  on  a  temporary  solution  for  a  possible  Protected 
Designation of Origin for the cheese Halloumi/Hellim, to be implemented pending the 
reunification of Cyprus, has been reached under the guidance of President Juncker on 
16  July  2015.  This  Regulation  is  without  prejudice  to  the  prerogatives  of  the 
Commission  under  Regulation  (EU)  No  1151/2012,  including  the  scrutiny  of  the 
application for any registration.  

(6) 

In line with this Common Understanding, the Commission will ensure the full respect 
of the relevant EU law, as foreseen by the EU Treaties. 

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4 

OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 955. 
OJ L 161, 30.4.2004, p. 128. 
OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1. 

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(7) 

This Regulation is without prejudice to a possible future Commission Decision lifting 
the prohibition of the movement of concerned animal products, to be taken pursuant to 
Article 4(9) of Regulation (EC) No 866/2004.  

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Regulation (EC) 866/2004 is amended as follows: 

In Article 4, the following paragraph shall be inserted: 

Article 1 

'4a. With regard to goods covered by a name registered under Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 
of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down a regime on quality schemes for 
agricultural products and foodstuffs, and for which the geographical scope includes areas of 
the Republic of Cyprus where the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise 
effective  control,  the  official  controls  provided  for  in  Article  36  of  that  Regulation  shall  be 
performed in the areas of the Republic of Cyprus where the Government of the Republic of 
Cyprus  does  not  exercise  effective  control  by  a  control  body  designated  pursuant  to  Article 
39(1) of that Regulation.    

In  addition  to  the  reports  made  to  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Republic  of  Cyprus 
pursuant to Article 5(2)(e) of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and 
of  the  Council  of  29  April  2004  on official  controls  performed  to  ensure  the  verification  of 
compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules, the body referred 
to in the first subparagraph shall report every six months to the European Commission on the 
implementation of its tasks under this Regulation.'. 

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

Article 2 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

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