Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on European Union geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, and quality schemes for agricultural products, amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2017/1001 and (EU) 2019/787 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012
Date: 2022-05-02
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: agricultural product, consumer information, designation of origin, foodstuff, labelling, product designation, quality control of agricultural products, spirits, trade mark, wine

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 2.5.2022  COM(2022) 134 final/2 2022/0089 (COD)  CORRIGENDUM This document replaces COM(2022)134 final of 31.03.2022. Addition of the cross-references to the linked SWD and SEC documents. Concerns all language versions.  The text shall read as follows :  Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on European Union geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, and quality schemes for agricultural products, amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2017/1001 and (EU) 2019/787  and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 {SEC(2022) 197 final} - {SWD(2022) 135 final} - {SWD(2022) 136 final}  
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

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CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

Geographical indications (GIs) identify products having qualities, characteristics or reputation 
due  to  natural  and  human  factors  linked  to  their  place  of  origin.  They  are  an  intellectual 
property right  (IPR) designed to  promote fair competition  amongst  producers by preventing 
bad-faith uses of a name and fraudulent and deceptive practices. GIs guarantee authenticity to 
consumers  and  distinguish  a  product  in  the  market  securing  higher-value  sales  and  exports. 
GIs  have  been  recognised  internationally  since  18831,  and  protected  in  steps  by  the  Union 
from  the  1970s  (wine)  to  1992  (agricultural  products  and  foodstuffs),  including  the 
completion  of  the  registers2  in  2020.  Today,  the  EU  register  of  geographical  indications 
contains almost 3500 names of wines, spirit drinks, agricultural products and foodstuffs. 

The Union system of GIs is sound, however, the evaluation of the policy as well as the impact 
assessment process have shown space for improvement, notably with a view to strengthening 
the  system  of  GIs,  as  key  to  provision  of  high  quality  food  and  protecting  cultural, 
gastronomic and local heritage across the Union. This concerns mainly: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

How best to give effect to the fundamental right of producers for the IPR in their GIs 
to be protected. Producers holding the intangible asset of a GI have a right to have it 
protected  and  the  Union  seeks  to  do  that  as  efficiently  and  effectively  as  possible, 
also in time of increased use of the internet; 

How  to  prevent  bad  faith  exploitation  of  product  names  by  operators  who  have  no 
rights or association with the authentic product. Enforcement, notably on the internet, 
and verification of compliance also need to be reviewed; 

How to increase sustainable production of products with GIs. As an instrument that 
valorises  products  intrinsically  linked  to  the  natural  factors  and  know-how  of 
producers in a local area, GIs are under-used for this purpose; 

How  can  consumers  be  better  informed  about  authentic  products  to  address 
asymmetric  information.  Consumer  recognition  of  the  dedicated  Union  symbols  is 
very low, pointing to a difficulty of communication; 

How  to  ensure  producers  receive  a  fair  return  for  their  product  with  its  qualities 
linked to its production, and can strengthen their position in the food supply chain. 

The  traditional  specialities  guaranteed  (TSG)  scheme  has  not  after  30  years  of  existence 
delivered the expected benefits for producers and consumers. To better identify and promote 
traditional  agricultural  products  in  the  Union,  the  TSG  scheme  should  be  simplified  and 
clarified. 

The  proposal  contributes  to  the  objectives  pursued  by  the  Common  Agricultural  Policy 
(CAP),  in  particular  to  improve  the  response  of  Union  agriculture  to  societal  demands  on 
economic, social and environmental sustainability outcomes of agricultural production. It will 
strengthen the current system of GIs as IPRs. The proposal will increase the economic, social 
and environmental outcomes of GI products, give producers more powers and responsibilities, 
reduce new forms of infringements (internet), improve the effectiveness  of enforcement and 

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https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/paris/ 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/food-safety-and-quality/certification/quality-
labels/geographical-indications-register/ 

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checks that guarantee the authenticity of the products, address legislative gaps, and make the 
registration procedures more efficient. Besides GIs, the proposal also addresses the rules for 
TSGs,  notably  in  clarifying  their  definition.  On  the  other  hand,  the  proposal  does  not  make 
changes to the rules for optional quality terms; these were introduced only in 2012 and their 
potential first needs to be fully explored by the Member States. Finally, the proposal does not 
address  non-agricultural  GIs;  the  intention  of  the  Commission  is  to  propose  a  separate 
legislative act for those. 

The overall goal of the GI revision is to facilitate the take up of GIs across the Union, as IP 
instruments  accessible  to  all  farmers  and  producers  of  products,  linked  by  characteristics  or 
reputation,  and  to  their  place  of  production.  No  changes  are  proposed  to  the  fundamental 
structure of the GI systems, thus maintaining the role of the Member States in the procedure 
for applications related to GIs and TSGs; the high level of protection of intellectual property 
rights;  specificities  for  GIs  in  the  wine  and  spirit  drinks  sectors;  and  national  enforcement 
within the framework of both the Official Controls Regulation and IP tools. 

While  the  production  of  quality  agricultural  products  is  a  strength  of  European  agriculture, 
there are geographical imbalances when it comes to the number of registered GIs across the 
Union. These reflect different ‘starting points’ and experiences in preserving the gastronomic 
and cultural heritage of the Member States. The GI revision should pay particular attention to 
encouraging  take-up  in  those  Member  States  where  the  use  of  GIs  is  under-exploited.  GIs 
reward producers for their efforts to produce a diverse range of quality products, which in turn 
can benefit the rural economy. This is particularly the case in less-favoured areas, in mountain 
and in remote regions, where the farming sector accounts for a significant part of the economy 
and  where  production  costs  and  handicaps  are  high.  An  objective  is  also  to  increase  the 
number of registered GIs for each lower-user Member State to the Union average. 

The proposal therefore addresses the following  general objectives: 

1. 

2. 

ensuring  effective  protection  of  IPR  in  the  Union,  including  efficient  registration 
processes, to fairly reward producers for their efforts; 

increasing the uptake of GIs across the Union to benefit the rural economy. 

These two general objectives are detailed in six specific objectives: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

improve the enforcement of GI rules to better protect IPR and better protect GIs on 
the  internet,  including  against  bad  faith  registrations  and  fraudulent  and  deceptive 
practices, and uses in the domain name system, and combat counterfeiting; 

streamline and clarify the legal framework to simplify and harmonise the procedures 
for  application  for  registration  of  new  names  and  amendments  to  product 
specifications; 

contribute to making the Union food system more sustainable by integrating specific 
sustainability criteria; 

empower  producers  and  producer  groups  to  better  manage  their  GI  assets  and 
encourage  the  development  of  structures  and  partnerships  within  the  food  supply 
chain; 

increase  correct  market  perception  and  consumer  awareness  of  the  GI  policy  and 
Union symbols to enable consumers to make informed purchasing choices; 

safeguard  the  protection  of  traditional  food  names  to  better  valorise  and  preserve 
traditional products and production methods. 

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Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

Union legislation has  provided for the protection of designations of origin and geographical 
indications in respect of wine since the early 1970s, spirit drinks since 1989 and agricultural 
products  and foodstuffs  since 1992.  It  allows for the registration of valuable product  names 
produced according to a product specification in a given geographical area by producers with 
recognised know-how. The proposal is consistent with existing policy provisions in the area 
of  GIs.  Its  aim  is  to  improve  the  existing  provisions  and  to  provide  for  a  simplified  and 
streamlined  set  of  rules  while  it  strengthens  certain  elements  of  GI  protection,  notably  by 
empowering  producer  groups  and  increasing  the  level  of  protection  on  the  internet.  It 
encourages GI producer groups to include in the product specification requirements of higher 
economic, social and environmental sustainability outcomes on a voluntary basis. To improve 
the  quality  of  registrations  and  the  treatment  of  applications,  it  provides  powers  for  the 
Commission  to  use  the  technical  assistance  of  an  agency  to  examine  the  applications  while 
keeping the GI registration and the overall responsibility for GI policy with the Commission. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

The  proposal  is  consistent  with  the  overall  legal  framework  established  for  the  CAP.  The 
proposal  complements  other  measures  aimed  at  ensuring  the  quality  and  diversity  of  the 
Union’s  agricultural,  wine  and  spirit  drinks  production,  rewarding  producers  fairly  for  their 
effort,  protecting  the  producers’  fundamental  rights  in  the  area  of  property,  and  informing 
citizens  and  consumers  about  identifiable  specific  characteristics  of  products  of  the  above-
mentioned sectors, in particular those linked to their geographical origin. 
The Commission committed itself in the Farm to Fork Strategy3 to contibute to the transtion 
to  a  sustainable  food  system  to  strengthen  the  legislative  framework  of  GIs  and,  where 
appropriate,  to  include  specific  sustainability  criteria.  GIs  are  also  mentioned  in  relation  to 
improved  rules  for  strengthening  the  position  of  farmers  and  producer  groups  in  the  value 
chain. The Farm to Fork Action Plan announces other initiatives that impact GI products, in 
particular a proposal for a legislative framework for sustainable food systems, to be tabled in 
2023. The present initiative on GIs was included in the Commission Work Programme 20214 
under REFIT5 initiatives, linked to the European Green Deal6. 

As  regards  the  climate-neutrality  objective  and  the  Union’s  2030  and  2040  climate  targets, 
this proposal will not negatively affect the climate.  
In addition, the Commission announced in the Communication on an IP Action Plan7 that it 
would strengthen the protection system for GIs to make it more effective, including to fight 
IPR infringements. 
Council  Conclusions  on  the  Farm  to  Fork  Strategy8  welcomed  a  better  integration  of 
sustainable development into European quality policy and invited the Commission to reaffirm 
the  relevance  and  importance  of  European  quality  schemes  and  to  strengthen  the  legislative 
framework on GIs. 

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https://ec.europa.eu/food/horizontal-topics/farm-fork-strategy_en 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/2021_commission_work_programme_annexes_en.pdf 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-making-process/evaluating-and-improving-existing-laws/refit-
making-eu-law-simpler-less-costly-and-future-proof_en 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12510-Intellectual-property-
action-plan_en 
https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-12099-2020-INIT/en/pdf 

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2. 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

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The  proposal  falls  within  the  scope  of  the  CAP  (Article  43  TFEU9)  and  IPRs  (Article  118 
TFEU). 

As  regards  the  CAP,  requirements  and  rules  for  the  placing  of  agricultural  products, 
foodstuffs,  wines,  aromatised  wine  products  and  spirit  drinks  on  the  internal  market  and 
ensuring the integrity of the internal market are matters essentially of Union competence. 

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence) 

By  Regulation  (EU)  No  1308/2013,  Regulation  (EU)  2019/787  and  Regulation  (EU)  No 
1151/2012, the Union has established an exhaustive system for the protection of the names of 
specific products to promote their unique characteristics, linked to their geographical origin as 
well  as  traditional  know-how  in  the  field  of  agricultural  products,  wine  and  spirit 
drinks.   Member  States  may  therefore  not  act  individually  to  achieve  this  policy  objective. 
Strengthening  the  current  system  of  GIs  can  only  be  achieved  by  action  at  Union  level, 
namely by a revision of these Regulations. 

• 

Proportionality 

The proposal comprises limited and targeted changes to the current legislative framework for 
GIs which do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objective of strengthening the 
GI system. It keeps in place the specificities of the sectors while it harmonises those rules that 
are  common  to  all  sectors,  notably  the  procedures  to  register  a  name  or  amend  the  product 
specification, protection of the names, and checks and enforcement. 

• 

Choice of the instrument 

The policy on GIs requires its direct applicability in the Member States. A Regulation of the 
European Parliament and of the Council is the appropriate instrument for a revision of the GI 
system, taking into account that the legislation currently in force consists of: 

• 

• 

• 

GIs for agricultural products and foodstuffs — Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council of 21  November 2012 on quality schemes 
for agricultural products and foodstuffs10; 

GIs for wine — Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets 
in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) 
No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/200711; 

GIs for spirit drinks — 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 110/200812. 

The proposal will entail a repeal of the first above-mentioned Regulation and amendments to 
the latter two. 

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https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:12012E/TXT&from=EN 
OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1. 
OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671. 
OJ L 130, 17.5.2019, p. 1. 

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3. 

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RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

Evaluation  of  Union  policy  on  GIs  and  TSGs  protected  in  the  Union  was  carried  out.  Its 
findings  were  published  on  21  December  2021  in  the  Commission  Staff  Working 
Document13. It  covered  altogether  almost  3 400  GIs  and  64  TSGs  originating  from  the 
Member States. The purpose of the evaluation was to assess to what extent the GI and TSG 
policy  has  reached  its  objectives.  The  evaluation  examined  the  effectiveness,  efficiency, 
relevance, coherence and added value at Union level of the GI and TSG framework.  

The objectives  of GIs  and TSGs are overall effectively achieved. A wide range of possible 
benefits  for  stakeholders  is  associated  with  the  policy,  like  securing  fair  return  and 
competition for producers. However, these are not systematic in all Member States. The main 
limits are the low awareness and understanding of the policy by consumers in some Member 
States and certain weaknesses of the controls at the downstream stages of the value chain. The 
other  core  policy  objectives  —  ensuring  the  respect  of  GIs  as  IPR  and  the  integrity  of  the 
internal  market,  and  for  TSGs  to  help  producers  of  traditional  products  to  safeguard 
traditional methods of production and recipes — are in general achieved. 

The  framework  for  GIs/TSGs  is  assessed  to  be  efficient.  GIs  and  TSGs  provide  several 
benefits for producers14, while the costs for public bodies (at Union and national levels) are 
low, estimated at 0.12 % of the total sales value under GI/TSG. However, there is room for 
simplification  and  reduction  of  administrative  burden,  notably  as  regards  the  lengthy 
registration and amendment procedures, both at national and Union level. 

The policy is assessed to be relevant for both private stakeholders and public authorities. The 
objectives of GIs and TSGs are addressing the actual needs of the various stakeholders. GIs 
and  TSGs  are  considered  a  strong  asset  for  rural  territories  and  an  important  tool  for 
promoting regional identity. Strengthening GIs and TSGs through rural development support 
responds primarily to the need to enhance integration. Although environmental protection and 
animal  welfare  are  not  the  main  objectives  for  GI/TSG  production,  the  surveyed  producer 
groups declared that some product specifications consider environmental and animal welfare 
issues. 

Considering  coherence,  no  major  incompatibility  has  been  identified  regarding  the  GIs  and 
Union trade marks, GIs/TSGs and national/regional schemes, and GIs/TSGs and other Union 
policies. 

In  addition,  there  is  a  clear  Union  added  value  because  GIs  and  TSGs  contribute  notably 
both to the integrity of the internal market and fair trade with third countries. 

As  regards  the  lessons  learned,  besides  the  above  mentioned  weaknesses  in  the  field  of 
control  and  enforcement  (downstream  market),  and  low  awareness  and  understanding  by 
consumers, the following points can be highlighted: 

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Differences in implementation cause difficulties for enforcing producers’ IPR outside 
the Member State of production. In addition, GIs cover a wide range of products and 

https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-
policy/cmef/products-and-markets/geographical-indications-and-traditional-specialities-guaranteed-
protected-eu_en 
The average price of GI/TSG products is twice as high than that of comparable non-GI/TSG products; 
relative  lower  price  variability  for  GI  products;  fair  competition  for  producers  in  the  GI/TSG  value 
chain; diversification of on-farm activities e.g. processing, new types of sales (direct sales, e-sales) and 
agri-tourism. 

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are  sold  through  various  outlets  (including online  sales)  further  hampering  their 
effective enforcement.  

Another  issue  is  closely  linked  to  the  Commission’s  new  political  objectives,  in 
particular the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy. As sustainability 
concerns have become more accentuated in recent years, GI and TSG production is 
not or not systematically taking them into consideration. 

Producer  groups  play  a  pivotal  role  in  the  implementation  of  GIs  and  TSGs. 
However,  the  evaluation  found  that  the  tasks  they  are  entitled  to  conduct  highly 
differ  among  the  various  sectors  and  between  the  Member  States  as  they  are  only 
defined at Union level for the agri-food sector but not for wines and spirit drinks. 

Lengthy and complex procedures for registration and amendments,  both at  national 
and  European  level,  are  considered  the  main  nuisance  for  producers  and  source  of 
administrative burden. 

The limited number of products registered as TSGs, not constituting an IPR, points to 
a  lack  of  interest  in  this  scheme  and  the  difficulty  to  protect  traditional  production 
methods across the Union. 

Stakeholder consultations 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The  consultation  strategy  elaborated  for  this  initiative  covered  all  aspects  of  the  initiative 
aiming at strengthening the system of GIs. It addressed various stakeholder categories: public 
authorities,  organisations  from  the  farming  sector,  organisations  from  the  processing  sector, 
European, national and sectoral federations and private companies, consumers’ organisations, 
organisations from the trade sector and retail sectors; third countries, academic and research 
institutes, general public and others. 

All  the  activities  announced  in  the  communication  strategy  were  performed  as  planned: 
Roadmap — Inception Impact Assessment feedback, stakeholder conference, Civil Dialogue 
Group meetings and questionnaire, Member States meetings and questionnaire, and targeted 
consultations of experts from the non-governmental sector. 

Roadmap — Inception Impact Assessment feedback   

Overall, stakeholders  welcomed the orientations  set  out  in  the Roadmap  –  Inception  Impact 
Assessment15  published  for  feedback  on  28  October  2020.  The  Roadmap  received  51 
feedbacks. 

The great majority of the respondents welcomed the Commission initiative to strengthen the 
Union system of GIs. The feedback mainly focused on sustainability aspects to make part of 
the product specification, and the need for improved protection and legislative clarifications. 
Those  who  commented  on  the  future  of  the  TSG  scheme  considered  that  it  should  be 
continued, clarified and simplified. A smaller number of respondents mentioned issues related 
to  simplification,  controls  and  enforcement,  empowering  GI  producer  groups  and  issues 
related to the use of the Union symbol on the label. 

Conference on “Strengthening Geographical Indications”, 25-26 November 2020 

A  high-level  conference  was  organised  jointly  by  the  Commission  and  the  European 
Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), and served as the focal point for stakeholders to make 
their  views  known  on  the  range  of  issues  dealt  with  in  the  GI  revision  process.  A  large 
audience composed of GI producers, stakeholders across the food value chain, Member State 

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officials,  international  and  civil  society  organisations,  EU  officials  as  well  as  students  and 
interested public took part of the event. 

Besides the plenary opening and closing sessions, fifteen panels to discuss different issues of 
the  GI  review  took  place.  Sustainability  issues  and  empowerment  of  producers  were  also 
discussed to address the Farm to Fork initiative as well as ways to increase attractiveness of 
GIs, and modernise and better enforce GIs in line with the IP action plan. 

The recorded conference and all the material (ppt. / video / audio / gallery) is available on the 
EUROPA web-page until November 202216. 

Public consultation  

From  15  January  2021  to  9  April  2021,  the  Commission  conducted  an  open  public 
consultation in all official EU languages via EU-SURVEY. Its aim was to gather the views of 
public  authorities,  stakeholders  and  the  public.  302 contributions  were  received  from 
respondents from 21 Member States. 

The respondents identified the main challenges for the GI revision: 

• 

• 

• 

Due to increased exploitation of reputation of GIs on the internet, there is a need to 
prevent fraud and the counterfeiting of GI products. 

GI  producer  groups  should  have  greater  powers  and  responsibilities  to  manage, 
promote  and  enforce  their  GIs.  For  the  time  being,  they  are  not  able  to  take 
decisions binding on their members. 

There is a lack of awareness of the logo, resulting from a lack of information and 
publicity about the benefits of GIs. 

Consultation of the Civil Dialogue Group (CDG) on Quality and Promotion  

The  CDG  members  represent  interests  of  producers,  processors,  retailers,  consumers, 
environmentalists  and  others.  The  Commission  consulted  the  CDG  Quality  and  Promotion 
during meetings on: 

• 

• 

• 

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5 November 2020: information on the process; first discussion on the GI revision; 

9 March 2021: discussion on the main needs for the revision of the GIs, with a focus 
on some elements including sustainability; 

1  July  2021:  results  of  the  public  consultation  and  the  targeted  consultation  of  the 
CDG; discussion on objectives and options; 

30 November 2021: presentation of the outcome of the impact assessment process. 

Similarly,  as  detailed  above,  the  Commission  also  consulted  the  CDG  Wine  during  its 
meetings  on  5  May  and  8  November  2021,  and  the  CDG  Spirit  Drinks  on  9  March  and  29 
October 2021. 

The Commission also consulted the members of the CDG Quality and Promotion through a 
written questionnaire on the sustainability of GIs, the labelling and the TSG. 

• 

Collection and use of expertise 

The Commission consulted experts from the Member States in the framework of the Expert 
Group for Quality and Sustainability of Agriculture and Rural Development. Meetings of this 
Expert Group took place on: 

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23  February  2021:  the  context,  challenges  and  objectives,  and  feedback  on  the 
Roadmap; 

22 April 2021: results of the public consultation and the targeted consultation of the 
Expert group; overall approach; 

23 September 2021: policy choices. 

Prior  to  these  meetings,  the  Commission  also  collected  experience  about  implementation  of 
the TSG scheme in the meeting of the Agricultural Policy Quality Committee on 19 October 
2020, including in the form of a questionnaire. 

The  Commission  also  consulted  the  members  of  the  Expert  Group  through  a  written 
questionnaire  on  the  sustainability  of  GIs,  simplification  of  the  GI  system  with  a  focus  on 
national process, relations with rural development policy and the TSG scheme. 

As  regards  the  sustainability,  the  driving  opinion  was  that  sustainability  should  not  be 
imposed  on  the  GI  producers,  but  encouraged  and  accompanied.  The  existing  practices  in 
relation  to  sustainability  are  to  be  acknowledged  and  promoted.  Member  States’  experts 
stressed  particularly  the  importance  of  a  gradual  integration  of  sustainability  requirements. 
There  is  a  need  for  more  support  (e.g.  for  sustainability  certification,  relevant  investments) 
and other forms of incentives (e.g. priority in funding) as well as information and promotion 
actions. With regard to concerns about nutritious food and healthy diet, the main opinion was 
that the focus on nutritional values and dietary needs should not dilute the concept of origin in 
GIs, i.e. of quality achieved through the correlation between human factors and natural factors 
in a given geographical area. 

While  the  experts  welcomed  further  simplification  of  procedures  and  reduction  of 
administrative  burden,  they  also  indicated  that  a  thorough  and  accurate  examination  of  GI 
applications  should  precede  over  speed.  Several  experts  favoured  a  better  harmonisation  of 
the  procedural  rules  for  all  sectors  and  advocated  for  better  guidelines  and  exchange  of 
information  to  facilitate  the  circulation  of  best  practices,  in  combination  with  a  better 
performing IT application. 

With regard to the main difficulties in the national procedure, two main elements stand out. 
First, bringing producers together in an active organisation appears to be difficult, because of 
limited time and resources. Producers show reluctance to cooperate at an early stage of a GI 
registration,  and  can  disagree  on  the  definition  of  the  production  process  in  a  product 
specification.  Drafting  the  product  specification  is  the  second  difficulty  encountered  by 
producers: struggle in gathering evidence supporting that the product meets requirements for a 
GI, unclear description of the product specificities, lack of knowledge on which information is 
required, etc. 

As  regards  the  relation  with  rural  development  interventions,  the  majority  of  experts 
indicated the objective should not be only to raise consumers’ awareness and promote the GI 
policy,  but  also  to  increase  producers’  competitiveness,  encourage  them  to  apply  for  the 
protection and improve sustainability. 

Experts  explained  that  the  registration  procedure  for  TSGs  is  considered  complex  and 
burdensome, hence clarification of criteria could be envisaged. They insisted on the fact that 
allowing TSGs to be freely produced outside their country of origin refrains producers from 
participating in the scheme, as they do not see the benefit of taking the registration burden. 

• 

Impact assessment 

The work on the Impact Assessment was carried out from October 2020 to September 2021, 
during  which  an  inter-service  steering  group  met  four  times.  Representatives  of  twelve 

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Directorates  General  and  Commission  Services  (ISSG),  and  of  EUIPO participated  in  the 
group. The content of the impact assessment report has been developed and improved with the 
contributions and comments of the services that participated actively to this ISSG. 

The  Regulatory  Scrutiny  Board  issued  a  negative  opinion  on  the  draft  Impact  Assessment 
Report following the meeting on 30 June 2021. The main observations of the Board included: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The report does  not  provide a clear rationale and sufficient  evidence to  support the 
need for action in the areas of sustainability, healthy diets, use of logos and supply 
chain imbalances. 

The report does not bring out clearly enough the available policy choices. It does not 
explore  sufficiently  alternative  combinations  of  policy  actions  that  could  offer  a 
better mix or are politically most relevant. 

The report is not sufficiently clear on the involvement of an agency and the related 
costs. 

The  report  does  not  sufficiently  differentiate  the  views  of  different  stakeholders  on 
key issues. 

The  ISSG was  consulted in  writing during the period 10-15 September 2021 on the revised 
version of the Impact Assessment Report, following the comments of the Regulatory Scrutiny 
Board. Comments were duly taken into account in the revised version. 

The  required  clarifications  and  complements  were  added  in  the  Impact  Assessment  Report 
and its Annexes and resubmitted to the Board on 25 September 2021. On this basis, the Board 
issued  a  positive  opinion  with  reservations17  on  24  October  2021.  While  acknowledging 
improvements in the report, the Board requested further clarifications on the following issues: 

• 

• 

• 

The selection of the preferred set of policy actions is not coherent with the rest of the 
report.  The  report  does  not  provide  a  clear  identification  and  consistent assessment 
and comparison of alternative policy action packages. 

The  report  does  not  sufficiently  justify  the  preferred  policy  action  regarding  the 
involvement of an agency. 

The views of different categories of stakeholders are not sufficiently reflected in the 
main report. 

All  comments  of  the  Board  were  addressed  in  the  final  version  of  the  Impact  Assessment 
Report and its executive summary18. 

The impact assessment process tested three policy options for the revision of GIs. 

The first option — Improve and support — aims at improving the instruments already in 
place  and  providing  further  support  to  producers,  Member  States’  authorities  and  other 
stakeholders. Main focus is on guidance (e.g. linked to  enforcement, the assessment of files 
and  legal  interpretation/clarification),  re-enforced  cooperation  among  Member  States  and 
capacity building activities, including on sustainability issues. Procedures will be improved by 
aligning  them  across  the  sectors.  A  more  flexible  approach  towards  the  Union  logos  is 
targeting their increased use by producers. 

The TSG scheme is replaced by an official recognition of traditional agricultural products and 
foodstuffs by Member States’ authorities with a limited list of criteria to be set at the Union 

17 
18 

Insert hyperlink when published 
Insert hyperlink when published 

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level while Member States would notify the names of traditional products to the Commission 
in order to be made public. 

The second option — Better define and reinforce  — reinforces the protection of GIs and 
improves the level playing field amongst operators through a single set of control procedures 
for  all  sectors  and  the  development  of  detailed  rules  on  the  respect  of  GIs  in  relation  to 
internet  sales.  It  also  defines the  role GI producer  groups  can play,  on a  voluntary  basis, in 
contributing  to  addressing  the  societal  concerns  on  sustainability  through  inclusion  of 
sustainability  criteria  in  product  specifications,  and  in  strengthening  the  management  and 
enforcement  of  their  GI  assets.  The  specific  roles  of  GI  producer  groups,  recognised  by 
Member  States’  authorities,  would  be  extended  to  all  sectors.  The  use  of  the  logo  on  the 
product  label  is  not  obligatory  and  producers  can  decide  on  its  size  and  place  on  the  label. 
Legislation  will  benefit  from  clarifications  of  the  legal  terminology,  built-in  flexibilities 
regarding  the  production  process  and  the  creation  of  a  single  set  of  simplified  procedural 
rules. 

As  part  of this  option,  Union  management  structures  for  assessing  GIs  are  to  be  reinforced 
through involvement  of  an existing agency in  the registration procedure. While the national 
level  assessment  would  remain  with  Member  States,  an  agency  would  provide  technical 
assistance  to  the  Commission  during  the  EU-level  scrutiny  of  applications  and  oppositions. 
While the  Impact  Assessment Report implicitly foresees decisions also  taken by an agency, 
for reasons of retaining close legislative control, the Commission shall take all legal decisions. 

The  third  option  —  Harmonise  and  upgrade  —  ensures  full  harmonisation  through  the 
creation  of  a  single  Regulation  containing  unified  enforcement  and  control  rules.  Similarly, 
provisions related to protection and procedural rules will be streamlined into one single basic 
act. Use of the prescribed logos is obligatory across all sectors. However, harmonisation will 
not affect GI definitions and will maintain the specificities of particular sectors. Sustainability 
criteria  for  GI  production  would  be  defined  in  the  Union  legislation  and  enforced  via  their 
integration in the product specification, making them subject to official controls. In addition 
to  the  actions  provided  under  the  previous  policy  option,  specific  guidelines  on  the 
functioning of the GI producer groups will strengthen their position in the GI value chains and 
allow for better management of their GI assets. 

This  option  envisages  to  fully  outsource  the  registration  process  to  an  existing  agency,  and 
provides  the  possibility  of  an  appeal  to  an  appellate  body.  It  allows  for  various  degrees  of 
involvement  of  Member  States:  initial  national  level  assessment  as  under  current  rules, 
consultation of Member States or no involvement of Member States. 

The TSG scheme would be abandoned. Those traditional food names that are able to meet the 
criteria for a PDO or a PGI could be registered as such while other traditional names could be 
registered as a trade mark. 

The  impact  assessment  has  concluded  that  the  second  option  has  the  most  merits.  This 
option  scores  the  highest  as  regards  the  comparison  of  costs  and  benefits  for  GI  producers. 
While producers will benefit from a faster and better protection, the costs, notably related to 
the  length  of  the  registration  procedure  and  resources  needed,  will  decrease.  Voluntary 
inclusion by the GI producer group of sustainability criteria in the product specification would 
entail  additional  compliance  and  certification  costs  that  could  be  partly  offset  by  support 
measures  in  the  framework  of  the  rural  development  policy;  this  would  meet  consumers’ 
expectations for products with a higher ambition in sustainability aspects. 

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• 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

The  proposal  is  based  on  a  regulatory  fitness  check  and  the  analysis  of  the  simplification 
potential. 

The  proposed  Regulation  simplifies  administration  of  GIs  by  proving  for  a  single  set  of 
procedural  and  control  rules  for  all  sectors.  It  harmonises  the  protection  provisions  for  all 
sectors  as  well.  It  thus  ensures  coherence  and  makes  the  system  of  GIs  more  easily 
understandable for stakeholders. 

The main elements of simplification are: 

• 

• 

• 

a single set of rules for application processes and controls, with benefits in terms of 
coherence of rules across sectors, ending current divergences in procedures; 

clarifications are introduced in particular in relation to IPR; 

simpler  concepts  are  introduced,  notably  in  the  TSG  scheme,  to  improve  their 
understanding for producers and consumers 

As  regards  the  reduction  of  administrative  burden,  the  proposal  provides  for  technical 
assistance  in  the  registration  procedure  by  an  existing  EU  agency  and  full  exploitation  of 
digital  tools.  The  impact  assessment  shows  that  technical  assistance  will  result  in 
improvements  in  length  of  time,  quality  of  applications  (due  to  feedback  cycle),  quality  of 
assessments  and  burden  reduction  on  producers  and  Member  States.  This  will  require  less 
public administration capacity and resources, and will shorten the registration time. 

The new domain name information and alert system to be established by EUIPO shall provide 
GI applicants with an additional digital tool as part of the application process to better protect 
and enforce their GI rights. 

Fundamental rights 

• 
The Union is obliged under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights19 (Article 17(2)) to protect 
intellectual property. The measures foreseen will create better conditions for the protection of 
GIs  and  decrease  the  risk  of  usurpation,  imitation  and  evocation  of  GI  names,  thus 
contributing to securing producers’ incomes. A more harmonised approach to procedural rules 
should result in a more efficient registration process, with shorter registration times, reduced 
burdens  on  producers  and  higher  quality  of  registration  processes,  thereby  respecting  the 
Commission’s obligation to handle GI applications impartially, fairly and within a reasonable 
time. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The proposal does not have any budgetary implications. 

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

The implementation of the measures will be monitored and reported upon, based on the core 
monitoring  indicators  for  the  main  operational  objectives,  listed  in  the  Impact  Assessment 
Report. 

19 

https://ec.europa.eu/info/aid-development-cooperation-fundamental-rights/your-rights-eu/eu-charter-
fundamental-rights_en 

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To monitor contribution of GIs to sustainable development and ensure transparency, GIview 
includes  a  section  for  each  registered  geographical  indication  where  Member  States’ 
authorities will include the sustainability statement. 

The  2016  Interinstitutional  Agreement  on  Better  Law-Making  provides  that  the  three 
Institutions agree to systematically consider the use of review clauses in legislation, and that 
account is taken of the time needed for implementation and for gathering evidence on results 
and impacts. Based on this, the Commission shall carry out an evaluation no sooner than five 
years  after  the  date  of  application  of  the  Regulation.  The  evaluation  will  be  conducted 
according to the Commission’s Better Regulation Guidelines. 

• 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

The  proposal  consists  of  a  set  of  rules  designed  to  put  in  place  a  coherent  system  for  GIs 
aimed at assisting producers to better communicate the qualities, characteristics and attributes 
of  their  GI  products,  and  at  ensuring  appropriate  consumer  information.  Moreover,  the 
proposal clarifies and improves the TSG scheme while it makes no changes to the scheme for 
optional quality terms. 

The proposal includes the following provisions: 

Title I: General provisions 

General  provisions  define  the  subject  being  the  GIs,  protecting  the  names  of wines,  spirit 
drinks and agricultural products. They also provide the definitions of terms specifically used 
in the Regulation, as well as data protection rules. 

Title II: Geographical indications 

Chapter 1: General provisions 

The general provisions explain that the objective of the GI system is to provide a unitary and 
exclusive system protecting the names of wines, spirit drinks and agricultural products having 
characteristics, attributes and reputation linked to their place of production. [LS: They provide 
the classification of products covered. They also provide the definitions of terms specifically 
used in this Title. 

Chapter 2: Registration of geographical indications 

This  Chapter  provides  notably  for  the  uniform  rules  for  registration,  both  at  national  and 
Union level  including the opposition procedure;  defines the applicant  and lists requirements 
for the applicant; specifies the content of application documents, and defines the role of the 
register.  It  lays  down  the  transitional  protection  and  transitional  measures.  It  also  includes 
provisions  on  the  amendments  to  the  product  specification  and  on  the  cancellation  of  the 
registered GI. 

Chapter 3: Protection of geographical indications 

The level of protection of GIs is laid down in this Chapter. The Chapter also lays down rules 
for GIs when used as ingredients, clarifies generic terms and registration of homonymous GIs, 
as  well  as  the  relationship  with  trade  marks.  It  provides  rules  for  the  recognised  producer 
groups. The relationship with the use of terms in internet domain names is defined. Finally, 
this Chapter includes the rules for the use of Union symbols, indications and abbreviations on 
the labelling and advertising material of the product concerned. 

Chapter 4: Checks and enforcement 

The  rules  on  the  checks  are  laid  down  in  this  Chapter,  including  both  verification  that  a 
product designated by a GI has been produced in conformity with the corresponding product 

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specification; and monitoring of the use of GIs in the marketplace. It also prescribes mutual 
assistance  between  Member  states’  authorities.  Finally,  it  requires  that  the  proof  of 
certification should be provided by the enforcement authorities on a request by a producer. 

Chapter 5: Supplementary elements of the registration procedure 

Under this Chapter, criteria are  established for monitoring the performance of the European 
Union  Intellectual  Property  Office  (EUIPO)  which  will  provide  technical  assistance  to  the 
Commission as regards the scrutiny of applications.  

Chapter 6: Geographical indications of agricultural products 

This Chapter provides for the definition of a Protected Designation of Origin and a Protected 
Geographical  Indication  for  agricultural  products.  It  prescribes  the  content  of  the  product 
specification  and  of  the  single  document  for  GIs  of  agricultural  products.  Besides  this,  it 
includes rules that are specific for this sector, notably on plant varieties and animal breeds, the 
sourcing of feed and of raw materials. 

Chapter 7: Procedural provisions 

This Chapter lays down that the Commission shall be assisted by the Geographical Indications 
Committee 

Chapter 8: Transitional and final provisions (geographical indications) 

This Chapter lays down that the Commission shall be assisted by the Geographical Indications 
Committee.  It  also  provides  for  the  continuity  of  the  registers and  clarifies  the  rules  for 
applications submitted before the entry into force of this Regulation. 

Title III: Quality schemes 

Chapter 1: Traditional specialities guaranteed 

This Chapter lays down the rules for the TSG scheme. In comparison to the existing rules, it 
clarifies the criteria for the registration of TSGs; notably, it no longer requires those to have a 
specific character. Procedural rules are also clarified and streamlined. 

Chapter 2: Optional quality terms 

This Chapter lays down the rules for optional quality terms. No changes have been done to the 
existing legislation in this area. 

Chapter 3: Procedural provisions 

This  Chapter  lays  down  that  the  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  the  Agricultural  Quality 
Committee. 

Title  IV:  Amendments  to  Regulations  (EU)  No  1308/2013, (EU)  2019/787  and  (EU) 
2017/1001 [BT: order of Regulations] 

This Title includes the provisions amending Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and Regulation 
(EU)  2019/787,  notably  due  to  a  new  harmonised  set  of  rules  for  protection,  registration 
procedure and control and enforcement, laid down in the previous chapters of this Regulation. 
It  amends  Regulation  (EU)  2017/1001  to  give  to  EUIPO  the  tasks  of administration  of 
geographical indications. 

Title V: Transitional and final provisions 

The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions 
laid down in the Regulation. This Chapter also clarifies the transitional rules, notably that the 
applications submitted before the entry into force of this Regulation have to respect the rules 

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applicable before its entry into force. The entry into force of the Regulation is defined on the 
[...] day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

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2022/0089 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on European Union geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural 
products, and quality schemes for agricultural products, amending Regulations (EU) No 
1308/2013, (EU) 2017/1001 and (EU) 2019/787  and repealing Regulation (EU) No 
1151/2012 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union, and  in  particular 
Article 43(2) and the first paragraph of Article 118 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national Parliaments, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee20, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions21, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

The European Green Deal22 included the design of a fair, healthy and environmentally-
friendly  food  system  (“farm  to  fork”)  among  the  policies  to  transform  the  Union's 
economy for a sustainable future. 

Commission Communication of 20 May 2020 on 'A Farm to Fork Strategy - for a fair, 
healthy  and  environmentally-friendly  food  system'  which  called  for  a  transition  to 
sustainable  food  systems,  also  calls  to  strengthen  the  legislative  framework  on 
geographical  indications  and,  where  appropriate,  include  specific  sustainability 
criteria.  In  the  Communication,  the  Commission  committed  to  strengthen,  among 
other  players,  the  position  of  producers  of  products  with  geographical  indications, 
their cooperatives and producer organisations in the food supply chain. 

In  its  Communication  of  25  November  2020  titled  ‘Making  the  most  of  the  EU’s 
innovative  potential  –  An  intellectual  property  action  plan  to  support  the  EU’s 
recovery  and  resilience’,  the  Commission  undertook  to  look  at  ways  to  strengthen, 
modernise,  streamline  and  better  enforce  geographical  indications  for  agricultural 
products, wine and spirit drinks. 

The quality and diversity of the Union’s wine, spirit drinks and agricultural production 
is  one  of  its  important  strengths,  giving  a  competitive  advantage  to  the  Union’s 
producers  and  making  a  major  contribution  to  its  living  cultural  and  gastronomic 
heritage. This is due to the skills and determination of Union producers who have kept 

20 
21 
22 

OJ C XX, XX.X.2022, p. XX. 
OJ C XX, XX.X.2022, p. XX. 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/communication-european-green-deal_en  

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(5) 

(6) 

traditions  alive  while  taking  into  account  the  developments  of  new  production 
methods and material. 

Citizens and consumers in the Union increasingly demand quality as well as traditional 
products. They are also concerned to maintain the diversity of agricultural production 
in the Union. This generates a demand for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products 
with 
their 
geographical origin. 

identifiable  specific  characteristics, 

in  particular 

linked 

those 

to 

The  protection  of  natural  persons  in  relation  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  is  a 
fundamental right. Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council23 provides  rules  on  the  protection  of  natural  persons  with  regard  to  the 
processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and 
on the free movement of such data. The roles of the Commission and of the Member 
States  in  relation  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  in  the  procedures  they  are 
competent for need to be clearly defined in order to ensure a high level of protection. 
Processing of personal data is lawful when it is necessary for the performance of tasks 
carried  out  in  the  public  interests.  Procedures  for  registration,  amendment  or 
cancellation of geographical indications and traditional specialities guaranteed carried 
out  in  the  framework  of  this  Regulation,  Regulation  (EU)  No  1308/2013  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council24  and  Regulation  (EU)  2019/787  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council25 should be properly carried out.  Processing 
references  concerning  applicants  in  a  registration,  amendment  or  cancellation 
procedure,  opponents,  beneficiaries  of  transitional  periods  and  bodies  and  natural 
persons delegated for certain official control tasks, in the context of the procedures of 
registration,  amendment  or  cancellation  of  geographical  indications  and  traditional 
specialities guaranteed, is necessary for the correct management of these procedures. 
In addition, those procedures have a public nature. Transparency is necessary to allow 
fair competition between the operators and to publicly identify the private and public 
economic interests linked to these procedures. With a view to minimising the exposure 
of  personal  data,  the  documents  to  be  submitted  in  the  course  of  the  relevant 
procedures  should  as  far  as  possible  avoid  requirements  for  submission  of  personal 
data.  Nonetheless,  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  may  need  to  process 
information  that  contain  personal  data,  such  as  personal  names  and  contact  details. 
Within  this  framework,  for  reasons  of  public  interest  and  in  accordance  with 
Regulation  (EU)  2018/1725,  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  should  be 
allowed to  process  such  personal  data  and to  disclose or make it public  when this is 
needed to  identify  applicants  in  a registration, amendment  or cancellation procedure, 
opponents in an opposition procedure, beneficiaries of a transitional period granted to 

23 

24 

25 

Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the 
protection of natural persons with regard to the  processing of personal data by the Union institutions, 
bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 
45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC, OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39–98. 
Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 
establishing  a  common  organisation  of  the  markets  in  agricultural  products  and  repealing  Council 
Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007, OJ L 
347, 20.12.2013, p. 671–854. 
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. 1–54. 

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(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

derogate to  the protection of a registered name and bodies delegated to  carry out  the 
verification on compliance with product specification.  

For  the  purpose  of  applying  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1725  the  Commission  is  the 
authority with  whom  the  owners  of  personal  data may  exercise  the related  rights,  by 
sending comments, raising questions or concerns, or submitting a complaint regarding 
the  collection  and  use  of  the  personal  data.  It  should,  therefore,  be  clarified  that  the 
Commission  is  considered  the  controller  within  the  meaning  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2018/1725 in relation to the processing of personal data in the procedures for which it 
is responsible under this Regulation, Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, Regulation (EU) 
2019/787 and the provisions adopted pursuant thereto.   
Regulation (EU) 2016/67926 of the European Parliament and of the Council applies to 
the  processing  of  personal  data  carried  out  by  Member  States  in  the  course  of  the 
relevant  procedures.  For  the  purpose  of  applying  that  Regulation  the  competent 
authorities of the Member States are the authorities with whom the owners of personal 
data may  exercise  the related  rights,  by  sending  comments,  raising questions  or 
concerns,  or  submitting  a  complaint  regarding  the  collection  and  use  of  the  personal 
data.  It  should,  therefore,  be  clarified  that  the  Member  States  are  considered 
controllers  within  the  meaning  of  Regulation  (EU)  2016/679  in  relation  to  the 
processing of personal data in the procedures for which they are responsible under this 
Regulation,  Regulation  (EU)  No  1308/2013,  Regulation  (EU)  2019/787  and  the 
provisions adopted pursuant thereto.  

to 

for  products 

societal  demands 

their  geographical 

Ensuring uniform recognition and protection throughout the Union for the intellectual 
property  rights  related  to  names  protected  in  the  Union  is  a  priority  that  can  be 
effectively  achieved  only  at  Union  level.  Geographical  indications  protecting  the 
names  of wines,  spirit  drinks  and  agricultural  products  having  characteristics, 
attributes  or  reputation  linked  to  their  place  of  production  are  an  exclusive  Union’s 
competence.  A  unitary  and  exclusive  system  of  geographical  indications  therefore 
needs  to  be  provided.  Geographical  indications  are  a  collective  right  held  by  all 
eligible  producers  in  a  designated  area  willing  to  adhere  to  a  product  specification. 
Producers  acting  collectively  have  more  powers  than  individual  producers  and  take 
including 
collective  responsibilities to  manage 
responding 
sustainable 
production. Operating  geographical  indications  reward  producers  fairly  for  their 
efforts  to  produce  a  diverse  range  of  quality  products.  At  the  same  time,  this  can 
benefit the rural economy, which is particularly the case in areas with natural or other 
specific  constraints,  such  as  mountain  areas  and  the  most  remote  regions,  where  the 
farming sector accounts for a significant part of the economy and production costs are 
high.  In  this  way,  quality  schemes  are  able  to  contribute  to  and  complement  rural 
development  policy  as  well  as  market  and  income  support  policies  of  the  CAP.  In 
particular,  they  may  contribute  to  the  developments  in  the  farming  sector  and, 
especially,  disadvantaged  areas.  A  Union  framework  that  protects  geographical 
indications by providing for their inclusion in a register at Union level facilitates the 
development  of  the  agricultural  sector,  since  the  resulting,  more  uniform  approach 
ensures  fair  competition  between  the  producers  of  products  bearing  such  indications 
and  enhances  the  credibility  of  the  products  in  the  consumers’  eyes. The  system  of 
geographical  indications  aims  at enabling  consumers  to  make  more  informed 
purchasing  choices  and,  through  labelling  and  advertising,  helping  them  to  correctly 

indications, 

resulting 

from 

26 

reference 

EN 

17 

  EN 

 
                                                 
identify  their  products  on  the  market.  Geographical  indications,  being  a  type  of 
intellectual  property  right,  help  operators  and  companies  valorise  their  intangible 
assets.  To  avoid  creating  unfair  conditions  of  competition  and  to  sustain  the  internal 
market,  any  producer,  including  a  third  country  producer,  should  be  able  to  use  a 
registered  name  and  market  products  designated  as  geographical  indications 
throughout  the  Union  and  in  electronic  commerce,  provided  that  the  product 
concerned  complies  with  the  requirements  of  the  relevant  specification  and  that  the 
producer is covered by a system of controls. In light of the experience gained from the 
implementation  of  Regulations  (EU)  No  1308/2013,  (EU)  2019/787  and  (EU)  No 
1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council27, there is a need to address 
certain  legal  issues,  to  clarify  and  simplify  some  rules  and  to  streamline  the 
procedures. 

(10) 

In  order  to  comply  with  the  definition  of  agricultural  products  in  the  international 
framework,  i.e.  World  Trade  Organisation,  the  use  of  the  combined  nomenclature 
should be provided for geographical indications. 

into  question 

indications,  without  calling 

(11)  The Union has for some time been aiming at simplifying the regulatory framework of 
the Common Agricultural Policy. This approach should also apply to regulations in the 
field  of  geographical 
the  specific 
characteristics  of  each  sector.  In  order  to  simplify  the  lengthy  registration  and 
amendment  procedures, harmonised  procedural  rules  for geographical  indications  for 
wine,  spirit  drinks  and  agricultural  products  should  be  laid  down in  a  single  legal 
instrument, while maintaining product specific provisions for wine in Regulation (EU) 
No  1308/2013,  for  spirit  drinks  in  Regulation  (EU)  2019/787  and  for  agricultural 
products  in  this  Regulation.  The  procedures  for  the  registration,  amendments  to  the 
product  specification  and  cancellation  of  the  registration  in  respect  of geographical 
indications  originating  in  the  Union,  including  opposition  procedures,  should 
be carried out by the Member States and the Commission. The Member States and the 
Commission  should  be responsible  for  distinct  stages  of  each  procedure.  Member 
States  should  be responsible  for  the  first  stage  of  the  procedure,  which  consists  of 
receiving  the  application  from  the  producer  group,  assessing  it,  including  running  a 
national opposition procedure, and, following the results of the assessment, submitting 
the  application  to  the  Commission.  The  Commission  should  be responsible  for 
scrutinising the application in the second stage of the procedure, including running a 
worldwide  opposition  procedure,  and  taking  a  decision  on  granting  the  protection  to 
the geographical indication or not. Geographical indications should be registered only 
at Union level. However, with effect from the date of application with the Commission 
for  registration  at  Union  level,  Member  States  should  be  able  to  grant  transitional 
protection at national level without affecting the internal market or international trade. 
The  protection  afforded  by  this  Regulation  upon  registration  should  be  equally 
available  to geographical  indications  of  third  countries  that  meet  the  corresponding 
criteria  and  that  are  protected  in  their  country  of  origin.  The  Commission  should 
carry out  the  corresponding  procedures  for geographical  indications  originating  in 
third countries. 

(12)  To  contribute  to  the  transition  to  a  sustainable  food  system  and  respond  to  societal 
demands  for  sustainable,  environmentally  and  climate  friendly,  animal  welfare 
ensuring,  resource  efficient,  socially  and  ethically  responsible  production  methods, 
producers of geographical indications should be encouraged to adhere to sustainability 

27 

Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 
on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs (OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1).  

EN 

18 

  EN 

 
                                                 
standards  that  are  more  stringent  than  the  mandatory  ones  and  go  beyond  good 
practice. Such specific requirements could be set out in the product specification.  

(13)  To ensure coherent decision-making as regards applications for protection and judicial 
challenges against them, submitted in the national procedure, the Commission should 
be  informed  in  a  timely  and  regular  manner  when  procedures  are  launched  before 
national courts or other bodies concerning an application for registration forwarded by 
the Member State to  the Commission  and of their final  results. For the same reason, 
where a Member State considers that a national decision on which the application for 
protection  is  based  is  likely  to  be  invalidated  as  a  result  of  national  judicial 
proceedings, it should inform the Commission of that assessment. If the Member State 
requests  the  suspension  of  the scrutiny  of  an  application  at  Union  level,  the 
Commission should be exempted from the obligation to meet the deadline for scrutiny 
established therein. In order to protect the applicant from vexatious legal actions and 
to preserve the applicant’s right to secure the protection of a name within a reasonable 
time, the exemption should be limited to cases in which the application for registration 
has  been  invalidated  at  national  level  by  an  immediately  applicable  but  not  final 
judicial decision or in which the Member State considers that the action to challenge 
the validity of the application is based on valid grounds. 

(14)  To  allow  operators,  whose  interests  are  affected  by  the  registration  of  a  name,  to 
continue  to  use  that  name  for  a  limited  period  of  time,  while  contravening 
the protection regime established in Article 27, specific derogations for the use of the 
names in the form of transitional periods should be granted. Such periods can also be 
allowed  to  overcome  temporary  difficulties  and  with  the  long-term  objective  of 
ensuring that all producers comply with the product specification. 

(15)  To  ensure  transparency  and  uniformity  across  Member  States,  it  is  necessary  to 
establish  and  maintain  an electronic  Union  register  of  geographical  indications, 
registered  as  protected  designations  of  origin  or  protected  geographical  indications. 
The register should provide information to consumers and to those involved in trade. 
The register should be an electronic database stored within an information system, and 
should be accessible to the public.  

(16)  The  Union  negotiates  international  agreements,  including  those  concerning  the 
protection  of  designations  of  origin  and  geographical  indications,  with  its  trade 
partners.  In  order  to  facilitate  the  provision  to  the  public  of  information  about  the 
names  protected  by  those  international  agreements,  and  in  particular  to  ensure 
protection and control of the use to which those names are put, those names may be 
entered in the Union register of geographical indications. Unless specifically identified 
as  designations  of  origin  in  such  international  agreements,  the  names  should  be 
entered in the register as protected geographical indications. 

(17)  For the optimal functioning of the internal market, it is important that producers and 
other  operators  concerned,  authorities  and  consumers may  quickly  and  easily  have 
access  to  the  relevant  information  concerning  a  registered  protected  designation  of 
origin  or  protected  geographical  indication.  This  information  should  include,  where 
applicable, the information on the identity of the producer group recognised at national 
level. 

(18)  Protection should  be  granted  to  names  entered  in  the  Union  register  of  geographical 
indications with the aim of ensuring that they are used fairly and in order to prevent 
practices  liable  to  mislead  consumers. In  order  to  strengthen  the  protection  of 
geographical indications and to combat counterfeiting more effectively, the protection 

EN 

19 

  EN 

 
of  designations  of  origin  and  geographical  indications  should  also  apply  to  domain 
names on the internet. 

(19)  To  establish  whether  products  are  comparable  to  the  products  registered  as  a 
geographical indication, account should be taken of all relevant factors. Those should 
include whether the products have common objective characteristics, such as method 
of  production,  physical  appearance  or  use  of  the  same  raw  material;  under  which 
circumstances the products are utilised from the point of view of the relevant public; 
whether they are frequently distributed through the same channels; and whether they 
are subject to similar marketing rules. 

(20) 

In light of commercial practices and Union jurisprudence clarity is required on the use 
of  a  geographical  indication  in  the  sale  name  of  a  processed  product  of  which  the 
product  designated  by  the geographical  indication  is  an  ingredient.  It  should  be 
ensured that such use is made in accordance with fair commercial practices and does 
not  weaken,  dilute  or  is  not  detrimental  to  the  reputation  of  the  product  bearing  the 
geographical indication. A consent of a large majority of the producers of geographical 
indications concerned should be required to allow such a use.  

(21)  Rules  concerning  the  continued  use  of  generic  names  should  be  clarified  so  that 
generic terms that are similar to or form part of a name or term that is protected should 
retain their generic status. 

(22)  The  scope  of  the  protection  granted  under  this  Regulation  should  be  clarified,  in 
particular with regard to those limitations on registration of new trade marks set out in 
Directive  (EU)  2015/2436  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council28  that 
conflict  with  the  registration  of  geographical  indications. Such  clarification  is  also 
necessary with regard to the holders of prior intellectual property rights, in particular 
those  concerning  trade  marks  and  homonymous  names  registered  as  geographical 
indications. 

(23)  Producer groups play an essential role in the application process for the registration of 
geographical  indications,  as  well  as  in  the  amendment  of  specifications  and 
cancellation requests. They should be equipped with the means to better identify and 
market  the  specific  characteristics  of  their  products.  The  role  of  the  producer  group 
should hence be clarified. 

(24)  As  producers  of  products  bearing  geographical  indications  are  mostly  small  or 
medium  size  enterprises,  they  face  competition  from  other  operators  along  the  food 
supply chain  which can  create unfair competition  between local  producers and those 
operating on a more extended scale. In this context, in the interest of all the producers 
concerned,  it  is  necessary  to  allow  one  single  producer group to  perform  specific 
actions in the name of the producers. To that purpose, the category of the recognised 
producer group should be established, together with the criteria necessary to qualify as 
a recognised producer group and the related specific additional rights, in particular in 
order to provide recognised producer groups with the right tools to better enforce their 
intellectual property rights against unfair practices. 

(25)  The  relationship  between  internet  domain  names and  protection  of  geographical 
indications should  be  clarified  as  regards  the  scope  of  the  application  of  the  remedy 
measures,  the  recognition  of  geographical  indications  in dispute  resolution,  and  the 
fair  use  of  domain  names.  Persons  having  a  legitimate  interest  on  a  geographical 
indication applied for registration before the registration of the domain name should be 

28 

OJ L 336, 23.12.2015, p.1. 

EN 

20 

  EN 

 
                                                 
empowered to request for the revocation or the transfer of the domain name in case of 
conflict. 

(26)  The relationship between trademarks and geographical indications should be clarified 
in  relation  to  criteria  for  the  rejection  of  trademark  applications,  the  invalidation  of 
trademarks and the coexistence between trademarks and geographical indications. 

(27) 

In order to avoid creating unfair conditions of competition, any producer, including a 
third-country  producer,  should  be  able  to  use  a  registered  geographical  indication, 
provided  that  the  product  concerned  complies  with  the  requirements  of  the  relevant 
product specification or single document or an equivalent to the latter, i.e. a complete 
summary of the product specification. The system set up by the Member States should 
also  guarantee that producers  complying  with  the rules  are entitled to  be covered by 
the verification of compliance of the product specification. 

(28)  The  symbols,  indications  and  abbreviations  identifying  a  registered  geographical 
indication,  and  the  rights  therein  pertaining  to  the  Union,  should  be  protected  in  the 
Union  as  well  as  in  third  countries  with  the  aim  of  ensuring  that  they  are  used  on 
genuine products and that consumers are not misled as to the qualities of products.  

(29)  The labelling of wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products should be subject to the 
general rules laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament 
and of the Council29, and in particular the provisions aimed at preventing labelling that 
may confuse or mislead consumers. 

(30)  The use of Union symbols or indications on the packaging of products designated by a 
geographical  indication should  be  made  obligatory  in  order  to  make  this  category  of 
products,  and  the  guarantees  attached  to  them,  better  known  to  consumers  and  to 
permit  easier  identification  of  these  products  on  the  market,  thereby  facilitating 
checks.  However,  in  view  of  the specific  nature  of  products  covered  by  this 
Regulation,  special  provisions  concerning  labelling  should  be  maintained  for  wine 
and spirit drinks. The use of such symbols or indications should remain voluntary for 
third country geographical indications and designations of origin. 

(31)  The  added  value  of  the  geographical  indications  is  based  on  consumer  trust.  The 
system  of  geographical  indications  significantly  relies  on  self-control,  due  diligence 
and  individual  responsibility  of  producers,  while  it  is  the  role  of  the  competent 
authorities of the Member States to take the necessary steps to prevent or stop the use 
of  names  of  products,  which  are  in  breach  of  the  rules  governing  geographical 
indications. The role of the Commission is to intervene in case of a systemic failure to 
apply Union law. Geographical indications should be subject to the system of official 
controls,  in  line  with  the  principles  set  out  in  Regulation  (EU)  2017/625  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council30, which should include a system of controls 
at  all  stages  of  production,  processing  and  distribution.  Each  operator  should  be 
subject  to  a  control  system  that  verifies  compliance  with  the  product  specification. 
Taking  into  account  that  wine  is  subject  to  specific  controls  defined  in  the  sectoral 
legislation, this Regulation should lay down controls for spirit drinks and agricultural 
products only. 

(32) 

In  order  to  ensure  that  they  are  impartial  and  effective,  the  competent  authorities 
designated  to  perform  the  verification  of  the  compliance  with  the  product 
specification should  meet  a  number  of  operational  criteria.  Provisions  on  delegating 

29 
30 

OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 18. 
OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, p. 1.  

EN 

21 

  EN 

 
                                                 
some competences of performing specific control tasks to product certification bodies 
should  be  envisaged  to  facilitate  the  task  of  the  control  authorities  and  make  the 
system more effective.  

(33) 

Information  on  the  competent  authorities  and  product  certification  bodies  should  be 
made public to ensure the transparency and allow interested parties to contact them. 

(34)  European  standards  developed  by  the  European  Committee  for  Standardisation 
and international  standards  developed  by 
for 
Standardisation should be used for the accreditation of the control bodies as well as by 
those bodies for their operations. The accreditation of those bodies should take place 
in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council31. 

International  Organisation 

the 

(35)  Enforcement  of  geographical  indications  in  the  marketplace  is  important  to  prevent 
fraudulent and deceptive practices thus ensuring that producers are properly rewarded 
for the added value of their products bearing a geographical indication and that illegal 
users  of  those  geographical  indications  are  prevented  from selling  their  products. 
Controls  should  be  carried  out  based  on  risk  assessment  or  notifications  from 
operators, and appropriate administrative and judicial steps should be taken to prevent 
or  stop  the  use  of  names  on  products  or  services  that  contravene  the  protected 
geographical indications. 

(36)  Online  platforms  have  become  increasingly  used  for  sales  of  products,  including  of 
those designated as geographical indications, and in some cases they might represent 
an important space as regards preventing fraud. In this regard, this Regulation should 
establish  rules  to  ensure  appropriate  labelling  of  products  sold  via  online  platforms, 
and  to  provide  powers  to  Member  States  to  disable  access  to  the  content  that 
contravenes the rules. These rules should be without prejudice to Regulation (EU) No 
2022/XX of the European Parliament and of the Council32. 

(37)  Taking into account that a product designated by the geographical indication produced 
in one Member State might be sold in another Member State, administrative assistance 
between  Member  States  should  be  ensured  to  allow  effective  controls  and  its 
practicalities should be laid down. 

(38)  For  the  optimal  functioning  of  the  internal  market,  it  is  important  that  producers 
quickly  and  easily  demonstrate  in  several  contexts  that  they  are  authorised  to  use  a 
protected name, such as at customs controls, market inspections or on demand by trade 
operators.  For  this  purpose,  an  official  certificate,  or  other  proof  of  certification,  of 
entitlement to produce the product designated by a geographical indication should be 
put at the disposal of the producer. 

(39)  The  procedures  for  registration,  amendment  and  cancellation  of  geographical 
indications, including the scrutiny and the opposition procedure, should be carried out 
in the most efficient way. This can be achieved by using the assistance for the scrutiny 
of  the  applications  provided  by  the  European  Union  Intellectual  Property  Office 
(EUIPO). While a partial outsourcing to EUIPO has been considered, the Commission 
would  remain responsible  for  registration,  amendment  and  cancellation,  due  to  a 
strong  relation  with  the  Common  Agricultural  Policy  and  to  the  expertise  needed  to 

31 
32 

OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30. 
Regulation  (EU)  […]  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  […]  on  a  Single  Market  For 
Digital Services (DSA) and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (OJ L …, XXX, dd/mm/yyyy, p. X). 

EN 

22 

  EN 

 
                                                 
ensure that specificities of wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products are adequately 
assessed.  

(40)  Criteria should be set to assess the performance of the EUIPO. These criteria should 
ensure quality, coherence and efficiency of the assistance provided. The Commission 
should  prepare  a  report  to  the  Parliament  and  to  the  Council  on  the  results  and 
experience of the execution of these tasks by the EUIPO. 

(41) 

In the light of existing practice, the two different instruments for identifying the link 
between the product and its geographical origin, namely the designation of origin and 
the  geographical  indication,  should  be  maintained.  Rules  for  and  definitions  of  plant 
varieties  and  animal  breeds  should  be  clarified  to  better  understand  their  articulation 
with geographical indications in case of conflict. Rules on sourcing of feed and of raw 
materials should remain unchanged. 

(42)  A product bearing a geographical indication should meet certain conditions set out in 
the  product  specification.  For  such  information  to  be  easily  understandable  also  to 
interested  parties,  the  product  specification  should  be  summarised  in  a  single 
document. 

(43)  To implement the rules related to geographical indications, the Commission should be 

assisted by a committee, composed by the delegates of the Member States. 

(44)  The specific objective of the scheme for traditional specialities guaranteed is  to  help 
the  producers  of  traditional  products  to  communicate  to  consumers  the  value-adding 
attributes of their product. In order to avoid creating unfair conditions of competition, 
any  producer,  including  a  producer  from  a  third  country,  should  be  able  to  use  a 
registered  name  of  a  traditional  speciality  guaranteed,  provided  that  the  product 
concerned  complies  with  the  requirements  of  the  relevant  specification  and  the 
producer is covered by a system of controls. 

(45)  As  only  a  few  names  have  been  registered,  the  current  scheme  for  traditional 
specialities  guaranteed  has  failed  to  realise  its  potential.  Current  provisions  should 
therefore  be  improved,  clarified  and  sharpened  in  order  to  make  the  scheme  more 
understandable, operational and attractive to potential applicants. To ensure that names 
of  genuine  traditional  products  are  registered,  the  criteria  and  conditions  for 
registration of a name should be adapted, in particular by removing the condition that 
traditional specialities guaranteed have a specific character. 

(46)  To  ensure  that traditional  specialities  guaranteed  comply  with  their  specification  and 
are consistent, producers organised into groups should themselves define the product 
in  a  specification.  The  option  of  registering  a  name  as  a  traditional  speciality 
guaranteed should be open to third country producers. 

(47)  To ensure transparency, the traditional specialities guaranteed should be entered in the 

register. 

(48) 

In order to avoid creating unfair conditions of competition, any producer, including a 
producer from a third country, should be able to use a registered name of a traditional 
speciality  guaranteed,  provided  that  the  product  concerned  complies  with  the 
requirements of the relevant specification and the producer is covered by a system of 
controls. For traditional specialities guaranteed produced within the Union, the Union 
symbol  should  be  indicated  on  the  labelling  and  it  should  be  possible  to  associate  it 
with the indication ‘traditional speciality guaranteed’. The use of the names, the Union 
symbol and the indication should be regulated to ensure a uniform approach across the 
internal market. 

EN 

23 

  EN 

 
(49)  Traditional  specialities  guaranteed should  be  effectively  protected  on  the  market  so 
that their producers are properly rewarded for their added value and that illegal users 
of traditional specialities guaranteed are prevented from selling their products.  

(50) 

In  order  not  to  mislead  the  consumers,  registered  traditional  specialities  guaranteed 
should  be  protected  against  any misuse  or imitation,  including  as  regards  products 
used  as  ingredients,  or  against  any  other  practice  liable  to  mislead  the  consumer. 
Pursuing the same objective, rules should be laid down for specific uses of traditional 
specialities  guaranteed,  notably  as  regards  the  use  of  terms  that  are  generic  in  the 
Union,  labelling  which  contains  or  comprises  the  denomination  of  a  plant  variety  or 
animal breed and trade marks. 

(51)  Participation  in  the  traditional  speciality  guaranteed scheme  should  ensure  that  any 
operator  complying  with  the  rules  of  this  scheme  is  entitled  to  be  covered  by  the 
verification of compliance with the product specification. 

(52)  The procedures  for the registration, amendments  to  the product  specification and the 
cancellation  of  the  registration  in  respect  of  traditional  specialities  guaranteed 
originating in the Union, including opposition procedures, should be carried out by the 
Member States and the Commission. The Member States and the Commission should 
be responsible  for  distinct  stages  of  each  procedure.  Member  States  should 
be responsible  for  the  first  stage  of  the  procedure,  which  consists  of  receiving  the 
application  from  the  producer  group,  assessing  it,  including  running  a  national 
opposition  procedure,  and,  following  the  results  of  the  assessment,  submitting  the 
Union  application  to  the  Commission.  The  Commission  should  be responsible  for 
scrutinising the application, including running a worldwide opposition procedure, and 
taking a decision on granting the traditional specialities guaranteed protection or not. 
The  protection  afforded  by  this  Regulation  upon  registration  should  be  equally 
available  to  traditional  specialities  guaranteed  of  third  countries  that  meet  the 
corresponding  criteria  and  that  are  protected  in  their  country  of  origin.  The 
Commission  should  also  carry out  the  corresponding  procedures  for  traditional 
specialities guaranteed originating in third countries. 

(53)  The optional quality terms scheme was introduced by Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012. 
It  refers  to  specific  horizontal  characteristics,  of  one  or  more  categories  of  products, 
farming methods or processing attributes which apply in specific areas. The optional 
quality term ‘mountain product’ has met the conditions laid down for optional quality 
terms and was established by that Regulation. It has provided mountain producers with 
an  effective  tool  to  better  market  their  product  and  to  reduce  the  actual  risks  of 
consumer  confusion  as  to  the  mountain  provenance  of  products  on  the  market.  The 
possibility  for  producers  to  use  optional  quality  terms  should  be  maintained,  as  the 
scheme has not yet fully met its potential in the Member States due to a short time of 
its application. 

(54)  To  implement  the  rules  related  to  traditional  specialities  guaranteed  and  optional 
quality terms,  laid  down in  this Regulation,  the  Commission  should be assisted by a 
committee, composed of the delegates of the Member States. 

(55)  Provisions  concerning  geographical  indications  in  Regulations  (EU)  No  1308/2013, 
concerning  the  wine  sector,  and  (EU)  2019/787,  concerning  the  spirit  drinks  sector, 
need  to  be  amended  in  order  to  align  them  to  the  common  rules  on  registration, 
amendment,  opposition,  cancellation,  protection  and  controls  of  the  geographical 
indications  set  out  in  this  Regulation.  In  particular  for  wine,  additional  changes  are 
needed  to  the  definition  of  protected  geographical  indications  in  line  with  the  Trade 

EN 

24 

  EN 

 
(56) 

Related  Agreement  on  Intellectual  Property.  For  reasons  of  consistency  with  this 
Regulation,  the  provision  on  the  tasks  of  the  EUIPO  laid  down  in  Regulation  (EU) 
2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council33 should also be amended. 

to 

international  agreements;  establishing appropriate  criteria 

In order to supplement or amend certain non-essential elements of this Regulation, the 
power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of 
the  European  Union  should  be  delegated  to  the  Commission  in  respect  of  defining 
sustainability  standards  and  laying  down  criteria  for  the  recognition  of  existing 
sustainability  standards;  clarifying  or  adding  items  to  be  supplied  as  part  of 
accompanying information; entrusting the EUIPO with the tasks related to scrutiny for 
opposition  and  the  opposition  procedure,  operation  of  the  register,  publication  of 
standard  amendments  to  a  product  specification,  consultation  in  the  context  of 
cancellation  procedure,  establishment  and  management  of  an  alert  system  informing 
applicants  about  the  availability  of  their  geographical  indication  as  a  domain  name, 
scrutiny of third country geographical indications other than geographical indications 
under  the  Geneva  Act  of  the  Lisbon  Agreement  on  Appellations  of  Origin  and 
Geographical  Indications34,  proposed  for  protection  pursuant 
international 
negotiations  or 
for 
monitoring  performance  of the  EUIPO  in  the  execution  of  the  tasks  entrusted  to  it; 
laying  down  additional  rules  on  the  use  of  geographical  indications  to  identify 
ingredients  in  processed  products;  laying  down  additional  rules  for  determining  the 
generic status of terms; establishing the restrictions and derogations with regard to the 
sourcing  of  feed  in  the  case  of  a  designation  of  origin;  establishing  restrictions  and 
derogations  with  regard  to  the  slaughtering  of  live  animals  or  with  regard  to  the 
sourcing  of  raw  materials;  laying  down  rules  for  determining  the  use  of  the 
denomination of a plant variety or of an animal breed; laying down rules which limit 
the information contained in the product specification for geographical indications and 
traditional specialities guaranteed; laying down further details of the eligibility criteria 
for  traditional  specialities  guaranteed;  laying  down  additional  rules  to  provide  for 
appropriate  certification  and  accreditation  procedures  to  apply  in  respect  of  product 
certification  bodies;  laying  down  additional  rules  to  further  detail  protection  of 
traditional  specialities  guaranteed;  laying  down  for traditional  specialities  guaranteed 
additional rules for determining the generic status of terms, conditions for use of plant 
variety  and  animal  breed  denominations,  and  relation  to  intellectual  property  rights; 
defining  additional rules  for  joint  applications  concerning  more  than  one  national 
territory and  complementing  the  rules  of  the  application  process  for traditional 
specialities  guaranteed  guaranteed;  complementing  the  rules  for  the  opposition 
procedure  for traditional  specialities  guaranteed  to  establish  detailed procedures 
and deadlines;  supplementing  the  rules  regarding  the  amendment  application  process 
for  traditional  specialities  guaranteed;  supplementing  the  rules  regarding  the 
cancellation process for traditional specialities guaranteed; laying down detailed rules 
relating  to  the  criteria  for  optional  quality  terms;  reserving  an  additional  optional 
quality term, laying down its conditions of use; laying down derogations to the use of 
the  term  ‘mountain  product’  and  establishing  the  methods  of  production,  and  other 
criteria relevant  for the application of that optional quality term, in particular, laying 
down  the  conditions  under  which  raw  materials  or  feedstuffs  are  permitted  to  come 
from  outside  the  mountain  areas.  It  is  of  particular  importance  that  the  Commission 
carry  out  appropriate  consultations  during  its  preparatory  work,  including  at  expert 

33 

34 

Regulation  (EU)  2017/1001  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  14  June  2017  on  the 
European Union trade mark (OJ L 154, 16.6.2017, p. 1). 
https://www.wipo.int/publications/en/details.jsp?id=3983  

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25 

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(57) 

level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid 
down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making35. In 
particular,  to  ensure  equal  participation  in  the  preparation  of  delegated  acts,  the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  receive  all  documents  at  the  same  time  as 
Member  States’  experts,  and  their  experts  systematically  have  access  to  meetings  of 
Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.           

In  order  to  ensure  uniform  conditions  for  the  implementation  of  this  Regulation, 
implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission as regards defining the 
technical  presentation  of,  and  online  access  to,  the  classification  of  the  products 
designated  by  geographical  indications  according  to  the  combined  nomenclature; 
defining a harmonised presentation of sustainability undertakings; defining the format 
and  online  presentation  of  the  accompanying  documentation  and  providing for  the 
exclusion or anonymisation of protected personal data; laying down detailed rules on 
procedures, the form and presentation of Union applications for registration, including 
for applications concerning more than one national territory; defining the format and 
online  presentation  of  oppositions  and  official  comments  and  providing for  the 
exclusion or anonymisation of protected personal data; granting a transitional period to 
allow  the  use  of  a  registered  name alongside  other  names that  would  otherwise 
contravene with a registered name and extending such transitional period; rejecting the 
application; deciding on the registration of a geographical indication if an agreement 
has not been reached; registering of geographical indications pertaining to products of 
third  countries  that  are  protected  in  the  Union  under  an  international  agreement,  to 
which  the  Union  is  a  contracting  party;  defining  the  content  and  presentation  of  the 
Union register of geographical indications; defining the format and online presentation 
of extracts from the Union register of geographical indications, and providing for the 
exclusion or anonymisation of protected personal data; laying down detailed rules on 
procedures,  form  and  presentation  of  applications  for  a  Union  amendment  and  on 
procedures,  the  form  and  communication  to  the  Commission  of  a  standard 
amendment;  cancelling  the  registration  of  a  geographical  indication;  laying  down 
detailed rules on procedures and form of the cancellation of a registration  and on the 
presentation  of  the  cancellation  requests;  establishing  the  Union  symbols  for 
geographical  indications, defining  the  technical  characteristics  of  the  Union  symbols 
and  indications  as  well  as  the  rules  of  their  use  on  products  marketed  under  a 
registered  geographical  indication,  including  rules  concerning  the  appropriate 
linguistic versions to be used; detailing the nature and the type of the information to be 
exchanged  and  the  methods  for  exchanging  information  under  mutual  assistance  for 
the purpose of controls and enforcement; laying down rules on the form of the product 
specification of geographical indications of agricultural products; defining the format 
and  online  presentation  of  the  single  document  of  geographical  indications  of 
agricultural  products and  providing for  the  exclusion  or  anonymisation  of  protected 
personal data; for traditional specialities guaranteed: laying down rules on the form of 
the  product  specification;  laying  down  detailed  rules  on  the  form  and  content  of  the 
Union register of traditional specialities guaranteed; establishing the Union symbol of 
traditional specialities guaranteed; laying down rules for the uniform protection of the 
indications,  abbreviations  and  the  Union  symbol,  rules  on  their  use  and  on  the 
technical  characteristics  of  the  Union  symbol;  laying  down  procedural  and  formal 
requirements  for  the  protection  of  traditional  specialities  guaranteed;  laying  down 
detailed rules on procedures, the form and presentation of applications for registration, 

35 

OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1. 

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26 

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including for applications concerning more than one national territory, of oppositions 
and  of  applications  for  amendments  of  a  product  specification  and  applications  for 
cancellation  of  a  registration;  transitional  periods  for  use  of  traditional  specialities 
guaranteed;  rejecting an  application for registration;  deciding on the registration of a 
traditional speciality guaranteed if an agreement has not been reached; cancelling the 
registration  of  a  traditional  speciality  guaranteed; for  optional  quality  terms  and 
schemes:  laying  down  technical  details  necessary  for  the  notification  of  the  optional 
quality  terms  and  schemes;  laying  down  rules related  to  forms,  procedures  or  other 
technical details; laying down rules for the use of optional quality terms. Those powers 
should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council36.             

(58)  The Commission should be empowered to adopt implementing acts without applying 
Regulation  (EU)  No  182/2011  in  respect  of:  registering  a  name  if  there  is  no 
admissible opposition or in case of an admissible opposition, where the agreement has 
been reached for geographical indications and traditional specialities guaranteed and if 
necessary  amending  the  information  published,  provided  that  these  amendments  are 
not  substantial;  establishing  and  maintaining  a  publicly  accessible  electronic  register 
of  geographical 
traditional  specialities 
guaranteed; granting a transitional period for use of geographical indications following 
an opposition lodged in the national procedure; cancelling the geographical indications 
registered  in  breach  with  a  wholly  or  partly  homonymous  geographical  indication 
already applied for or registered; defining the means by which the name and address of 
competent  authorities  and  product  certification  bodies  are  to  be  made  public  for 
traditional specialities guaranteed. 

indications  and  electronic  register  of 

(59)  Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2017/1001 and (EU) 2019/787 should therefore 
be amended accordingly and Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 should be repealed.   

(60)  The protected designations of origin, protected geographical indications and traditional 
specialities  guaranteed  already  registered  under  Regulation  (EU)  No  1151/2012,  the 
protected  designations  of  origin  and  protected  geographical  indications  already 
registered  under  Regulation  (EU)  No  1308/2013  and  the  geographical  indications 
already  registered  under  Regulation  (EU)  2019/787  should  continue  to  be  protected 
under  this  Regulation,  and  they  should  be  automatically  included  in  the  respective 
register. 

(61)  Provisions  should  be  made  for  appropriate  arrangements  to  facilitate  a  smooth 
transition  from  the  rules  provided  for  in  Regulations  (EU)  No  1151/2012,  (EU)  No 
1308/2013 and (EU) 2019/787 to the rules laid down in this Regulation, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Title I 
General provisions 

Article 1 

Subject matter 

This Regulation lays down the rules on: 

(a) geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products. 

36 

OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13. 

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(b) traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products.  

1. 

For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply: 

Article 2 

Definitions 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

‘producer group’ means any association, irrespective of its legal form, mainly 
composed of producers or processors of the same product; 

‘traditional’  and  ‘tradition’,  associated  with  a  product  originating  in  a 
geographical area, means proven historical usage by producers in a community 
for a period that allows transmission between generations; this period is to be 
at least 30 years and the said usage may embrace modifications necessitated by 
changing hygiene and safety practices; 

the  definition  of  ‘labelling’  in  Article  2(2),  point  (j),  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 
1169/2011; 

‘production  step’  means  any  stage  of  production,  processing,  preparation  or 
ageing,  up  to  the  point  where  the  product  is  in  a  form  to  be  placed  on  the 
internal market; 

‘processed products’ means food resulting from the processing of unprocessed 
products within the meaning of Article 2 (m) and (o) of Regulation 852/2004; 

‘product  certification  bodies’ means  bodies within  the  meaning  of  Title  II, 
Chapter  III,  of  Regulation  (EU)  2017/625  which  certify  that  products 
designated 
specialities 
geographical 
guaranteed comply with the product specification. 

indications 

traditional 

by 

or 

(g) 

‘generic term’ means: 

(i) the  name  of  products  which,  although  relating  to  the  place,  region  or 
country  where  a  product  was  originally  produced  or  marketed,  have  become 
the common name of a product in the Union; and 

(ii) a common term descriptive of types of products, product attributes or other 
terms that do not refer to specific product; 

(h) 

'plant variety denomination’ means a a designation of a given variety, that is in 
common  use  or  officially  registered  pursuant 
to  Council  Directives 
2002/53/EC37,  2002/55/EC38,  2008/90/EC39 or  Council  Regulation  (EU)  No 
2100/9440, in the language or languages they are so used or listed, at the date of 
application for the registration of the geographical indication concerned;  

(i) 

'animal  breed  denomination’  means  the  names  of  breeds  in  the  meaning  of 
Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1012 of the European Parliament and of the 

37 

38 

39 

40 

Council  Directive  2002/53/EC  of  13  June  2002  on  the  common  catalogue  of  varieties  of  agricultural 
plant species (OJ L 193, 20.7.2002, p. 1). 
Council  Directive  2002/55/EC  of  13  June  2002  on  the  marketing  of  vegetable  seed  (OJ  L  193, 
20.7.2002, p. 33).  
Council  Directive  2008/90/EC  of  29  September  2008  on  the  marketing  of  fruit  plant  propagating 
material and fruit plants intended for fruit production (OJ L 267, 8.10.2008, p. 8).  
Council  Regulation (EC) No  2100/94 of 27 July 1994 on  Community plant variety rights (OJ  L 227, 
1.9.1994, p. 1) 

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28 

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Council41 that  are  listed  in  breeding  books  or  breeding  registers,  in  the 
language  or  languages  they  are  so  listed,  at  the  date  of  application  for  the 
registration of the geographical indication concerned. 

Article 3 

Data protection 

The Commission and the Member States shall process and make public the personal 
data  received  in  the  course  of  the  procedures  for  registration,  approval  of 
amendments,  cancellation,  opposition,  granting  of  transitional  period  and  control 
pursuant  to  this  Regulation,  Regulation  (EU)  No  1308/2013  and Regulation  (EU) 
2019/787, in accordance with Regulations (EU) 2018/1725 and (EU) 2016/679.  

The  Commission  shall  be  a  controller  within  the  meaning  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2018/1725  in  relation  to  the  processing  of  personal  data  in  the  procedure  it  is 
competent for in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/787, Commission Delegated 
Regulation (EU) 2021/123542 and this Regulation. 

The  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  States  shall  be  controllers  within  the 
meaning of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 in relation to the processing of personal data 
in  the  procedures  they  are  competent  for  in  accordance  with  Regulation  (EU) 
2019/787, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1235 and this Regulation. 

Title II 
Geographical indications 

Chapter 1 
General provisions 

Article 4 

Objectives 

This  Title  provides  for  a  unitary  and  exclusive  system  of geographical  indications, 
protecting  the  names  of wine,  spirit  drinks  and  agricultural  products  having 
characteristics,  attributes  or reputation  linked  to  their  place  of  production,  thereby 
ensuring the following: 

(a) 

producers acting collectively have the necessary powers and responsibilities to 
manage their geographical indication, including to respond to societal demands 
for  products  resulting  from  sustainable  production  in  its  three  dimensions  of 
economic, environmental and social value, and to operate in the market;  

(b) 

fair competition for producers in the marketing chain; 

Regulation  (EU)  2016/1012  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  8  June  2016  on 
zootechnical and genealogical conditions for the breeding, trade in and entry into the Union of purebred 
breeding  animals,  hybrid  breeding  pigs  and  the  germinal  products  thereof  and  amending  Regulation 
(EU) No 652/2014, Council  Directives 89/608/EEC and 90/425/EEC and  repealing certain acts in the 
area of animal breeding (‘Animal Breeding Regulation’) (OJ L 171, 29.6.2016, p. 66). 
Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2021/1235  of  12  May  2021  supplementing  Regulation  (EU) 
2019/787  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  with  rules  concerning  applications  for 
registration  of  geographical  indications  of  spirit  drinks,  amendments  to  product  specifications, 
cancellation of the registration and the register (OJ L 270, 29.7.2021, p. 1). 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

41 

42 

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29 

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(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

consumers receive reliable information and a guarantee of authenticity of such 
products  and  can  readily  identify  them  in  the  marketplace  including  in 
electronic commerce; 

efficient 
the appropriate protection of intellectual property rights; and 

registration  of  geographical 

indications 

taking 

into  account 

effective  enforcement  and  marketing  throughout  the  Union  and  in  electronic 
commerce ensuring the integrity of the internal market. 

Article 5 

Scope 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

43 

44 

This  Title  covers  wine,  spirit  drinks  and  agricultural  products,  including  foodstuffs 
and fishery and aquaculture products, listed under Chapters 1 to 23 of the combined 
nomenclature set out in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/8743, and the 
additional  agricultural  products  under  the  combined  nomenclature  headings  and 
codes set out in Annex I to this Regulation. 

The registration and the protection of geographical indications is without prejudice to 
the  obligation  of  producers  to  comply  with  other  Union  rules,  in  particular  those 
relating to the placing of products on the market, sanitary and phytosanitary rules, the 
common organisation of the markets, the competition rules and the provision of food 
information to consumers. 
Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council44 shall not 
apply to the system of geographical indications laid down in this Regulation. 

Article 6 

Classification 

Products designated by geographical indications shall be classified according to the 
combined  nomenclature  at  two,  four  or  six  digit  level.  Where  a  geographical 
indication covers products of more than one category, each entry shall be specified. 
Product  classification  shall  only  be  used  for  registration,  statistical  and  record 
keeping purposes. The said classification shall not be used to determine comparable 
products  for  the  purposes  of  protection  against  direct  and  indirect  commercial  use 
referred to in Article 27(1), point (a).  

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  defining  the  technical  presentation 
of,  and  online  access  to,  the  classification  referred  to  in  paragraph  1.  Those 
implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination  procedure 
referred to in Article 53(2) 

Article 7 

Definitions 

For the purposes of this Title the following definitions shall apply: 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on 
the Common Customs Tariff (OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1). 
Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 laying 
down  a  procedure  for  the  provision  of  information  in  the  field  of  technical  standards  and  regulations 
and of rules on Information Society services (OJ L 241, 17.9.2015, p. 1). 

EN 

30 

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(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

‘geographical indication’, unless otherwise stated, means designations of origin 
and geographical  indications  of  wine,  as  defined  in  Article  93  of  Regulation 
(EU)  No  1308/2013,  designations  of  origin  and  geographical  indications  of 
agricultural  products,  as  defined  in  Article  48of  this  Regulation  and 
geographical  indications  of  spirit  drinks,  as  defined  in  Article  3(4)  of 
Regulation (EU) 2019/787, that are applied for or entered in the Union register 
of geographical indications referred to in Article 23; 

‘wine’ means  the  products  referred  to in  Part  II,  points  1,  3 to  6,  8,  9,  11,  15 
and 16 of Annex VII to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013; 

'spirit drinks' as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787; 

‘agricultural  products’  means  products  referred  to  in  Article  5(1)  excluding 
wine and spirit drinks; 

‘combined nomenclature’ means the goods nomenclature established by Article 
1 of Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87; 

‘recognised  producer  group’  means  a  formal  association  having  legal 
personality  and  recognised  by  the  competent  national  authorities  as  the  sole 
group to act on behalf of all producers; 

‘producer’ means  an  operator  engaged  in  any  production  step  of  a  product 
protected by a geographical indication, including processing activities, covered 
by the product specification; 

Chapter 2 
Registration of geographical indications 

Article 8 

Applicant 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Applications for the registration of  geographical  indications may only  be  submitted 
by a producer group of a product ('applicant producer group'), the name of which is 
proposed for registration. Regional or local public bodies may help in the preparation 
of the application and in the related procedure.  

An  authority  designated  by  a  Member  State  may  be  deemed  to  be  an  applicant 
producer group for the purposes of this Title, with respect to geographical indications 
of a spirit drink, if it is not feasible for the producers concerned to form a group by 
reason  of  their  number,  geographical  location or  organisational  characteristics. In 
such case, the application referred to in Article 9(2) shall state those reasons. 

A single producer may be deemed to be an applicant producer group for the purposes 
of this Title where it is shown that both of the following conditions are fulfilled: 

(a) 

(b) 

the person concerned is the only producer willing to submit an application for 
the registration of a geographical indication; and 

the  geographical  area  concerned  is  defined  by  natural  features  without 
reference 
to  property boundaries  and  has characteristics  which  differ 
appreciably  from  those  of  neighbouring  areas  or  the  characteristics  of  the 
product are different from those produced in neighbouring areas. 

EN 

31 

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4. 

1. 

In the case of a geographical indication that designates a cross-border geographical 
area,  several  producer  groups  from  different  Member  States  or  third countries  may 
lodge a joint application for the registration of a geographical indication. 

Article 9 

National stage of the procedure of registration  

An  application for  the  registration  of  a  geographical  indication concerning  a 
product originating  in  the  Union  shall  be  addressed  to  the  competent authorities  of 
the Member State in which the product originates. 

2. 

The application referred to in paragraph (1) shall comprise: 

(a) 

the product specification provided for in Article 11 ; 

(b) 

the single document provided for in Article 13; 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

(c) 

the accompanying documents referred to in Article 14(1) points b), c) and d). 

The Member State shall scrutinise the application for registration in  order to  check 
that  it  meets  the  conditions  for  registration  of  the  respective  provisions  for  wine, 
spirit drinks or agricultural products as appropriate. 

As part of the scrutiny referred to in paragraph (3), the Member State shall conduct a 
national  opposition  procedure.  The  national  opposition  procedure 
shall 
ensure publication  of  the  application  for  registration  and  provide  for  a  period  of  at 
least 2 months from the date of publication within which any natural or legal person 
having a legitimate interest and established or resident on the territory of the Member 
State  in  which  the  product  concerned  originates may  lodge  an  opposition  to  the 
application for registration with that Member State. 

The Member State shall establish the modalities of the opposition procedure. These 
modalities  may  include  criteria  for  the  admissibility  of  an  opposition,  a  period  of 
consultation  between  the  applicant  producer  group  and  each  opponent,  and 
submission  of  a  report  from  the  applicant  producer  group  on  the  outcome  of  the 
consultations  including  any  changes  the  applicant  producer  group  has  made  to  the 
application for registration. 

If,  after  the scrutiny  of  the  application  for  registration  and  the  assessment  of  the 
results of any opposition received and any changes to the application agreed with the 
applicant  producer  group,  the  Member  State  considers that  the  requirements  of  this 
Regulation are met, it may take a favourable decision and lodge a Union application 
as referred to in Article 15. 

The  Member  State  shall  ensure  that  its  decision,  be  it  favourable  or  not,  is  made 
public  and  that  any  natural  or  legal  person  having  a  legitimate  interest  has  an 
opportunity to lodge an appeal. The Member State shall also ensure that the product 
specification on which its favourable decision is based is published, and shall provide 
electronic access to the product specification. 

Article 10 

Transitional national protection 

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32 

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1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

A Member State may, on a temporary basis, grant transitional protection to a name at 
national level, with effect from the date on which a Union application for registration 
is lodged with the Commission. 

Such national protection shall cease on the date on which either the implementing act 
deciding  on  the  application  for  registration,  adopted  in  accordance  with  Article  22, 
enters into force or the application for registration is withdrawn. 

Where  a  name  is  not  registered  under  this  Regulation,  the  consequences  of  the 
transitional national  protection  shall  be  the  sole  responsibility  of  the  Member  State 
concerned. 

The measures taken by Member States in accordance with this Article shall produce 
effects at national level only, and they shall have no effect on the internal market or 
in international trade. 

Article 11 

Product specification 

For the purposes of this Title, the ‘product specification’ of a geographical indication shall be 
the document referred to in: 

(a)  Article 94 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 for wine; 

(b)  Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 for spirit drinks; 

(c)  Article 51 of this Regulation for agricultural products. 

Article 12 

Sustainability undertakings 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

A producer  group may  agree on sustainability  undertakings to  be adhered to  in  the 
production of the product designated by a geographical indication. Such undertakings 
shall  aim  to  apply  a  sustainability  standard  higher  than  mandated  by  Union  or 
national law and go beyond good practice in significant respects in terms of social, 
environmental  or economic  undertakings.  Such  undertakings  shall  be  specific,  shall 
take  account  of  existing  sustainable  practices  employed  for  products  designated  by 
geographical indications, and may refer to existing sustainability schemes. 

The sustainability undertakings referred to in paragraph (1) shall be included in the 
product specification. 

The sustainability undertakings referred to in paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice 
to requirements for compliance with hygiene, safety standards and competition rules. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts  in  accordance 
with Article 84 defining sustainability standards in different sectors and laying down 
criteria for the recognition of existing sustainability standards to which producers of 
products designated by geographical indications may adhere.  

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  defining  a  harmonised  presentation 
of  sustainability  undertakings.  Those  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in 
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 53(2). 

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Article 13 

Single document 

1. 

The ‘single document’ for a geographical indication refers to: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

the document summarising the product specification referred to in Article 94 of 
Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 for wine; 

the document referred to in Article 23 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 for spirit 
drinks; 

the  document  referred  to  in Article  52 of  this  Regulation  for  agricultural 
products. 

Article 14 

Accompanying documentation 

1. 

The documentation accompanying the application for registration shall comprise: 

(a) 

information  concerning  any  proposed  limitations  on  the  use  or  on  the 
protection of the geographical indication, and, where relevant, any transitional 
measures,  proposed  by  the  applicant  producer  group  or  by  the  national 
authorities notably following the national scrutiny and opposition procedure; 

(b) 

the name and contact details of the applicant producer group; 

(c) 

the  name  and  contact  details  of  the  competent  authority  and/or  product 
certification  body  verifying  compliance  with  the  provisions  of  the  product 
specification pursuant to: 

(i)  Article 116a of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 as regards wine; 

(ii) 

 Article 39 of this Regulation as regards agricultural  products  and spirit 
drinks; 

(d) 

any  other  information  deemed  appropriate  by  the  Member  State,  or  by  the 
applicant producer group where applicable. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts  in  accordance  with 
Article  84 supplementing this  Regulation  by  provisions  clarifying  the  requirements 
or listing additional items of the accompanying documentation to be supplied. 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  defining  the  format  and  online 
presentation of the accompanying documentation provided for in paragraph (1), and 
on the  exclusion  or  anonymisation  of  protected  personal  data.  Those  implementing 
acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination  procedure  referred  to  in 
Article 53(2). 

2. 

3. 

Article 15 

Union application for registration 

1. 

For geographical indications concerning products originating in the Union, the Union 
application for registration shall comprise:   

(a) 

the single document referred to in Article 13; 

(b) 

the accompanying documentation referred to in Article 14; 

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34 

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(c) 

a  declaration  by  the  Member  State  to  which  the  application  was  initially 
addressed, confirming that the application meets the conditions for registration; 
and 

(d) 

the electronic publication reference of the product specification which shall be 
maintained up to date. 

2. 

For geographical indications concerning products originating outside the Union, the 
Union application for registration shall comprise: 

(a) 

the product specification with its publication reference, 

(b) 

the single document referred to in Article 13; 

(c) 

(d) 

the accompanying documentation referred to in Article 14;  

legal  proof  of  protection  of  the  geographical  indication  in  its  country  of 
origin; and 

(e) 

a power of attorney where the applicant is represented by an agent. 

A  joint  application  for  registration referred  to  in Article  8(4) shall  be  submitted  by 
one  of  the Member  States  concerned or  by  an  applicant  producer  group  in  a 
third country, directly or through the authorities of that third country. 

The  joint  application  for  registration  referred  to  in Article  8(4)  shall  include,  as 
relevant, the documents listed in paragraph (1) or (2) from all Member States or third 
countries concerned. The related national procedures, including the opposition stage, 
shall be carried out in all the Member States concerned. 

The  documents  referred  to  in  this  Article  shall  be  drafted  in  one  of  the  official 
languages of the Union. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance 
with Article 84 defining procedures and conditions applicable to the preparation and 
submission of Union applications for registration. 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  laying  down  detailed  rules  on 
procedures,  the  form  and  presentation  of  Union  applications  for  registration, 
including  for  applications  concerning  more  than  one  national  territory.  Those 
implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination  procedure 
referred to in Article 53(2) . 

Article 16 

Submission of the Union application for registration  

A  Union application  for  the  registration  of  a geographical  indication  shall  be 
submitted  to  the  Commission electronically,  through a  digital  system.  The  digital 
system  shall  have  the  capacity  to  allow  the  submission of  applications  to  national 
authorities  of  a  Member  State,  and  to  be  used  by  the  Member  State  in  its  national 
procedure. 

Where  the  application  for  registration relates  to  a  geographical  area  outside  the 
Union,  the  application  shall  be  submitted  to the  Commission,  either  directly  or  via 
the  authorities  of  the  third  country  concerned.  The  digital  system,  referred  to  in 
paragraph  1,  shall  have  the  capacity  to  allow  submission of  applications  by  an 
applicant producer group established outside the Union and by national authorities in 
the third country concerned. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

1. 

2. 

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35 

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3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

The  Union  application  for  registration  shall  be  made  public  by  the  Commission 
through the digital system referred to in paragraph (1).  

Article 17 

Scrutiny by the Commission and publication for opposition 

The  Commission  shall  scrutinise  any  application  for  registration  that  it  receives 
pursuant  to Article  16(1).  Such  scrutiny  shall  consist  of  a  check  that  there  are  no 
manifest  errors,  that  the  information  provided  in  accordance  with  Article  15 is 
complete  and  that  the  single  document  referred  to  in  Article  13  is  precise  and 
technical in nature. It shall take into account the outcome of the national procedure 
carried out by the Member State concerned. It shall focus in particular on the single 
document referred to in Article 13. 

Scrutiny should not exceed a period of 6 months. In the event that the scrutiny period 
exceeds or is likely to exceed 6 months the Commission shall inform the applicant of 
the reasons for the delay in writing. 

The Commission may seek supplementary information from the applicant. 

Where,  based  on  the  scrutiny  carried  out  pursuant  to  paragraph  1,  the  Commission 
considers  that  the  conditions  laid  down  in  this  Regulation  and  in Regulations  (EU) 
No 1308/2013 and (EU) 2019/787, as appropriate, are fulfilled, it shall publish in the 
Official Journal of the European Union the single document and the reference to the 
publication of the product specification. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article  84 supplementing  this  Regulation by  rules  on  entrusting  EUIPO  with 
the tasks set out in this Article. 

Article 18 

National challenge to an application for registration 

Member States shall keep the Commission  informed of  any national  administrative 
or judicial proceedings that may affect the registration of a geographical indication. 

The  Commission  shall  be  exempted  from  the  obligation  to  meet  the  deadline  to 
perform  the  scrutiny  referred  to  in  Article  17(2) and  to  inform  the  applicant  of  the 
reasons  for  the  delay  where  it  receives  a  communication  from  a  Member  State, 
concerning an application for registration in accordance with Article 9(6), which: 

(a)  informs  the  Commission  that  the  decision  referred  to  in  Article  9(6) has  been 
invalidated  at  national  level  by  an  immediately  applicable  but  not  final  judicial 
decision; or 

judicial  proceedings  have  been 

(b) requests the Commission to suspend the scrutiny because national administrative 
or 
the  validity  of 
the application and the Member State considers that those proceedings are based on 
valid grounds. 

to  challenge 

initiated 

3. 

The  exemption  shall  have  effect  until  the  Commission  is  informed  by  the  Member 
State  that  the  original  application  has  been  restored  or  that  the  Member  State 
withdraws its request for suspension. 

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36 

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4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

If the application has been invalidated by a final decision taken by a national court, 
the  Member  State  shall  consider  appropriate  action  such  as  withdrawal  or 
modification of the Union application for registration, as necessary. 

Article 19 

Union opposition procedure 

Within 3 months from the date of publication in the Official Journal of the European 
Union of the single document and the reference to the product specification pursuant 
to Article 17(4), the authorities of a Member State or of a third country, or a natural 
or legal person having a legitimate interest, established or resident in a third country, 
may lodge an opposition or a notice of comment with the Commission. 

Any natural or legal person having a legitimate interest, established or resident in a 
Member  State  other  than  the  one from  which  the  Union  application  for  registration 
was  submitted,  may  lodge  an  opposition  with  the  Member  State,  in  which  it  is 
established  or  resident,  within  a  time  limit  permitting  an  opposition  or  notice  of 
comments to be lodged pursuant to paragraph (1). 

An opposition shall claim that the application could infringe the conditions laid down 
in  this  Regulation,  Regulations  (EU)  No  1308/2013  or (EU)  2019/787,  as 
appropriate,  and  give  reasons.  An  opposition  that  does  not  contain  the  said 
claim shall be void.  

The Commission shall check the admissibility of the opposition. If the Commission 
considers that the opposition is admissible, it shall, within 5 months from the date of 
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union invite the authority or the 
person that lodged the opposition and the authority or the applicant producer group 
that  lodged  the  application  to  engage  in  appropriate  consultations  for  a  reasonable 
period  that  shall  not  exceed  3 months.  At  any  time  during  that  period,  the 
Commission  may,  at  the  request  of  the  authority  or  the  applicant  producer  group, 
extend the deadline for the consultations by a maximum of 3 months. 

The authority or the person that lodged the opposition and the authority or applicant 
producer  group  that  lodged  the  application  shall  start  appropriate  consultations 
without undue delay. They shall provide each other with the relevant information to 
complies  with this 
assess  whether 
Regulation, Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013 or (EU) 2019/787, as appropriate. 

registration 

application 

the 

for 

Within  1 month  from  the  end  of  the  consultations  referred  to  in  paragraph  (4), the 
applicant  producer  group  established  in  the  third  country  or  the  authorities  of  the 
Member  State  or  of  the  third  country  from  which  the  Union  application  for 
registration was lodged shall notify the Commission of the result of the consultations, 
including all the information exchanged, whether agreement was reached with one or 
all  of  the  opponents,  and  of  any  consequent  changes  to  the  application  for 
registration.  The  authority  or  person  that  lodged  an  opposition  to  the  Commission 
may also notify the Commission of its position at the end of the consultations. 

Where,  following  the  end  of  the  consultations  referred  to  in  paragraph  (4),  the 
data published in accordance with Article 17(4) have been modified, the Commission 
shall  repeat  its  scrutiny  of  the  application  for  registration  as  modified.  Where  the 
application  for  registration  has  been  modified  in  a  substantial  manner,  and  the 
Commission  considers  that  the  modified  application  meets  the  conditions  for 

EN 

37 

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8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

registration,  it  shall  publish  the  application  once  more  in  accordance  with  that 
paragraph.  

The  documents  referred  to  in  this  Article  shall  be  drafted  in  one  of  the  official 
languages of the Union. 

After  completion  of  the  opposition  procedure,  the  Commission  shall  finalise  its 
assessment of the Union application for registration, taking into account any request 
for  transitional  periods,  the  outcome  of  the  opposition  procedure,  any  notice  of 
comments  received and  any  other  matters  arising  subsequently  to its  scrutiny  that 
may imply a change of the single document. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts,  in  accordance  with 
Article  84 supplementing  this  Regulation  by  detailed  procedures  and deadlines  for 
the opposition  procedure,  for  the  official  submission  of  comments  by  national 
authorities  and  persons  with  a  legitimate  interest,  which  will  not  trigger  the 
opposition  procedure  and  by  rules  on  entrusting  its  tasks  set  out  in  this  Article 
to EUIPO. 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  defining  the  format  and  online 
presentation  of  oppositions  and  official  comments,  if  applicable,  and  providing for 
the exclusion or anonymisation of protected personal data. Those implementing acts 
shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 
53(2). 

Article 20 

Grounds for opposition 

1. 

An  opposition  lodged  in  accordance  with  Article  19 shall  be  admissible only  if  the 
opponent demonstrates that: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

the proposed geographical indication does not comply with the definition of the 
geographical 
this 
Regulation,  Regulation  (EU)  No  1308/2013  or Regulation  (EU)  2019/787  as 
the case may be; 

the  requirements  referred 

indication  or  with 

to 

in 

registration of the proposed geographical indication would be prevented by one 
or  more  of  the  circumstances  referred  to  in  Article  29,  Article  30,  Article 
31 or Article 49(1) ; 

the  registration  of  the  proposed  geographical  indication  would  jeopardise  the 
existence  of  an  entirely  or  partly  identical  name  or  of  a  trade  mark  or  the 
existence of products which have been legally on the market for at least 5 years 
preceding the date of the publication provided for in Article 17(4) . 

2. 

1. 

The admissibility of an opposition shall be assessed by the Commission in relation to 
the territory of the Union. 

Article 21 

Transitional period for the use of geographical indications 

The Commission may adopt implementing acts granting a transitional period of up to 
5 years to enable, for products originating in a Member State or a third country the 
designation of which consists of or contains a name that contravenes Article 27(1), 
the continued use of that designation, under which they were marketed, provided that 

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38 

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an  admissible  opposition,   under  Article  9(4) or  Article  19,  to  the  application 
for registration  of  the  geographical  indication  whose  protection  is  contravened 
shows that: 

(a) 

(b) 

the registration of the concerned geographical indication would jeopardise the 
existence of an entirely or partly identical name in the product designation; or 

such  products  have  been  legally  marketed  with  that  name  in  the  product 
designation  in  the  territory  concerned  for  at  least  5 years  preceding  the 
publication provided for in Article 17(4), point (a). 

The implementing acts referred to in paragraph 1 shall be adopted in accordance with 
the  examination  procedure  referred  to  in Article  53(2) except  those  where  an 
admissible  opposition  is  lodged  under Article  9(4),  which  shall  be  adopted  without 
applying that examination procedure.  

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  extending  the  transitional  period 
granted under paragraph  (1)  up to  15  years, or allowing continued use  for up to  15 
years, provided it is additionally shown that: 

(a) 

(b) 

the name in the designation referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article has been 
in legal use consistently and fairly for at least 25 years before the application 
for registration of the concerned geographical indication was submitted to the 
Commission; 

the  purpose  of  using  the  name  in  the  designation referred  to  in  paragraph 
(1) has not, at any time, been to profit from the reputation of the name of the 
product that has been registered as geographical indication; and 

(c) 

the consumer has not been or could not have been misled as to the true origin 
of the product. 

The implementing acts referred to in paragraph 3 shall be adopted in accordance with 
the  examination  procedure  referred  to  in  Article  53(2) except  those  where  an 
admissible  opposition  is lodged  under  Article  9(4),  which  shall  be  adopted  without 
applying that examination procedure. 

When  using  a  designation  referred  to  in  paragraphs  1  and  3,  the  indication  of  the 
country of origin shall clearly and visibly appear on the labelling. 

To overcome temporary difficulties with the long-term objective of ensuring that all 
producers  of  a  product  designated  under  a  geographical  indication  in  the  area 
concerned comply with the related product specification, a Member State may grant 
a transitional period for compliance, of up to 10 years, with effect from the date on 
which  the  application  is  lodged  with  the  Commission,  provided  that  the  operators 
concerned  have  legally  marketed  the  products  in  question,  using  the  names 
concerned continuously for at least 5 years preceding the lodging of the application 
to the authorities of that Member State and have referred to that fact in the national 
opposition procedure referred to in Article 9(4). 

paragraph (6) shall apply mutatis mutandis to a geographical indication referring to a 
geographical  area  situated  in  a  third country,  with  the  exception  of  the  opposition 
procedure. 

Article 22 

Commission decision on the application for registration 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

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39 

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1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Where, on the basis of the information available to the Commission from the scrutiny 
carried  out  pursuant  to  Article  17,  the  Commission  considers  that  any  of  the 
requirements 
implementing 
acts rejecting  the  application  for  registration.  Those  implementing  acts  shall  be 
adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 53(2). 

therein is not 

shall  adopt 

fulfilled, it 

referred 

it  receives  no  admissible  opposition, 

Where 
the  Commission  shall  adopt 
implementing  acts,  without  applying  the  procedure  referred  to  in  Article  53(2), 
registering the geographical indication. The Commission may take in to account the 
notices of comments received in accordance with Article 19(1).    

Where  it  receives  an  admissible  opposition,  the  Commission  shall,  following  the 
consultations referred to in Article 19(4) and taking into account the results thereof,  

(a) 

adopt  implementing  act  registering  the  geographical  indication  without 
applying  the  procedure  referred  to  in  Article  53(2),  if  an  agreement  has  been 
reached,  after  checking  that  the  agreement  complies  with Union  law,  and,  if 
necessary, amend the information published pursuant to Article 17(4) provided 
that such amendments are not substantial; or 

(b) 

adopt  implementing  acts  deciding  on  the  application  for  registration,  if  an 
agreement has not been reached. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in 
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 53(2). 

acts 

registering 

The 
any 
condition applicable  to  the  registration  and  for  the  republication  for  information 
of the  single  document  published  for  opposition  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the 
European Union in case of any necessary amendments that are not substantial. 

indication shall  provide 

a  geographical 

for 

Regulations  of  registration and  decisions  on  rejection  shall  be  published  in  the 
Official Journal of the European Union, L series. 

Article 23 

Union register of geographical indications 

The  Commission  shall  adopt  implementing  acts,  without  applying  the  procedure 
referred to in Article 53(2), containing provisions on establishing and maintaining a 
publicly  accessible  electronic  register  of  geographical  indications  protected under 
this  Regulation (the ‘Union register of  geographical  indications’). The register shall 
have  three  parts  corresponding  to  geographical  indications  of  wine,  of  spirit  drinks 
and of agricultural products respectively. 

Each geographical indication of wine and of agricultural products shall be identified 
in  the  Union  register  of  geographical  indications  as  a  ‘protected  designation  of 
origin’  or  a  ‘protected  geographical  indication’  as  the  case  may  be,  and  each 
geographical  indication  of  spirit  drinks  shall  be  identified  as  a  ‘geographical 
indication’. 

Geographical indications concerning products from third countries that are protected 
in  the  Union  under  an  international  agreement  to  which  the  Union  is  a  contracting 
party  may  be  entered  in  the  Union  register  of  geographical  indications.  The 
Commission  shall register  such geographical  indications  by  means  of  implementing 
acts  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination  procedure  referred  to  in   Article 
53(2).  As  regards  wine  and  agricultural  products,  unless  specifically  identified  in 
those agreements  as  protected  designations  of  origin,  the names  of  such  products 

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40 

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4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

shall  be  entered  in  the  Union  register  of  geographical  indications  as  protected 
geographical indications. 

Each  geographical  indication shall be entered in the Union register of  geographical 
indications in its original script. Where the original script is not in Latin characters, 
the geographical indication shall be transcribed in Latin characters and both versions 
of the geographical indication shall be entered in the Union register of geographical 
indications and shall have equal status. 

The Commission shall make public and regularly update the list of the international 
agreements referred to in paragraph (3) as well as the list of geographical indications 
protected under those agreements. 

The  Commission  shall  retain  documentation  related  to  the  registration  of  a 
geographical  indication  in  digital  or  paper  form  for  the  period  of  validity  of  the 
geographical indication, and in case of cancellation for 10 years thereafter. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article  84 supplementing  this  Regulation  by  rules  on  entrusting  EUIPO  to  operate 
the Union register of geographical indications. 

The Commission may adopt implementing acts defining the content and presentation 
of the Union register of geographical indications. Those implementing acts shall be 
adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 53(2). 

Article 24 

Extracts from the Union register of geographical indications 

Any person shall be able to download an official extract from the Union register of 
geographical  indications that  provides  proof  of  registration  of  the  geographical 
indication, and the relevant data including the date of application for the registration 
of the geographical indication or other priority date. This official extract may be used 
as an authentic certificate in legal proceedings, in a court of law, court of arbitration 
or similar body. 

Where  a producer  group  has  been  recognised  by  the  national  authorities  in 
accordance with Article 33, that group shall be identified as the rights' holder of the 
geographical  indication in the Union register of  geographical  indications and in  the 
official extract referred to in paragraph (1). 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  defining  the  format  and  online 
presentation  of  extracts  from  the  Union  register  of  geographical  indications, 
and providing for the exclusion or anonymisation of protected personal  data.  Those 
implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination  procedure 
referred to in Article 53(2). 

Article 25 

Amendments to a product specification 

A  producer  group  having  a  legitimate  interest  may  apply  for  the  approval  of  an 
amendment to the product specification of a registered geographical indication. 

Amendments to a product specification shall be classified into two categories: 

(a)  Union amendments, requiring an opposition procedure at Union level; and 

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(b) 

standard amendments to be dealt with at Member State or third country level. 

3. 

An  amendment  shall  be  a  Union  amendment  if  it  entails  a  change  of  the  single 
document and: 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

(a) 

includes a change in the name, or in the use of the name, or, for wine and spirit 
drinks,  in  the  category  of  product  or  products  designated  by the  geographical 
indication, or, for spirit drinks, in the legal name; or 

(b) 

risks  voiding  the  link  to  the  geographical  area  referred  to  in  the  single 
document; or 

(c) 

entails further restrictions on the marketing of the product. 

Any  other  amendment  to  a  product  specification  of  a  registered  geographical 
indication, that is not a Union amendment in accordance with paragraph 3, shall be 
considered as a standard amendment. 

A  standard  amendment  shall  be  considered  as  a  temporary  amendment  when  it 
concerns a  temporary  change  in  the  product  specification  resulting  from  the 
imposition  of  obligatory  sanitary  and  phytosanitary  measures  by  the  public 
authorities  or  a  temporary  amendment  necessary  because  of  a  natural  disaster  or 
adverse weather conditions formally recognised by the competent authorities. 

Union  amendments  shall  be  approved  by  the  Commission.  The  approval  procedure 
shall follow, mutatis mutandis, the procedure laid down from  Article 8 to Article 22. 

Applications for Union amendments submitted by a third country or by producers in 
a third country shall contain proof that the requested amendment complies with the 
laws on the protection of geographical indications in force in that third country.  

indication  also 

If an application for a Union amendment to the product specification of a registered 
temporary 
geographical 
amendments,  the  Commission  shall  scrutinise  the Union  amendment only. Any 
standard amendments or temporary amendments shall be deemed as not having been 
submitted.  The  scrutiny  of  such  applications  shall  focus  on  the  proposed  Union 
amendments.  Where  appropriate,  the  Commission  or  the  Member  State  concerned 
may invite the applicant to modify other elements of the product specifications. 

includes standard  amendments  or 

Standard  amendments  shall  be  approved  by  Member  States  or  third countries  in 
whose  territory  the  geographical  area  of  the  product  concerned  is  located  and 
communicated  to  the  Commission.  The  Commission  shall  make  those  amendments 
public.  

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article  84 supplementing  this  Regulation  by  provisions  entrusting  EUIPO  with  the 
publication of standard amendments referred to in paragraph (9). 

The  Commission  may adopt  implementing  acts  laying  down  detailed  rules  on 
procedures, the form and presentation of an application for a Union amendment and 
on  procedures,  the  form  and  communication  of  standard  amendments  to  the 
Commission.  Those  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the 
examination procedure referred to in Article 53(2). 

Article 26 

Cancellation of the registration 

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1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

The Commission may, on its own initiative or on a duly substantiated request  by  a 
Member  State,  a  third country  or  any  natural  or  legal  person  having  a  legitimate 
interest,  adopt  implementing  acts  to  cancel  the  registration  of  a  geographical 
indication in the following cases: 

(a)  where  compliance  with  the  requirements  for  the  product  specification  can  no 

longer be ensured; or 

(b)  where  no  product  has  been  placed  on  the  market  under  the  geographical 

indication for at least seven consecutive years. 

The Commission may also adopt implementing acts cancelling the registration at the 
request of the producers of the product marketed under the registered name. 

The  implementing  acts  referred  to  in  paragraphs  1  and  2  shall  be  adopted  in 
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 53(2). 

Article  9,  Articles  from  Article  15 to  Article  20 and  Article  22 shall  apply mutatis 
mutandis to the cancellation procedure. 

Before  adopting  the  implementing  acts  referred  to  in  paragraphs  1  and  2,  the 
Commission shall consult the authorities of the Member State, the authorities of the 
third country  or,  where  possible,  the  third country  producer  which  had  originally 
applied  for  the  registration  of  the  geographical  indication  concerned,  unless  the 
cancellation is directly requested by those original applicants. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article  84 supplementing this  Regulation  by  rules  entrusting  EUIPO  with the  tasks 
set out in paragraph (5). 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  laying  down  detailed  rules  on 
procedures  and  the  form  of  the  cancellation  of  registrations,  as  well  as  on  the 
presentation  of the  requests referred to  in  paragraphs 1 and 2. Those implementing 
acts shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination  procedure  referred  to  in 
Article 53(2). 

Chapter 3 
Protection of geographical indications 

Article 27 

Protection of geographical indications 

1. 

Geographical  indications  entered  in  the  Union  register  of  geographical  indications 
shall be protected against: 

(a) 

(b) 

any direct or indirect commercial use of the geographical indication in respect 
of  products  not  covered  by  the  registration, where  those  products  are 
comparable to the products registered under that name or where use of a name 
exploits, weakens, dilutes, or is detrimental to the reputation of, the protected 
name; 

any  misuse,  imitation  or  evocation,  even  if  the  true  origin  of  the  products  or 
services is indicated or if the protected name is  translated or accompanied by 
an  expression  such  as  ‘style’,  ‘type’,  ‘method’,  ‘as  produced  in’,  ‘imitation’, 
‘flavour’, ‘like’ or similar. 

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43 

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(c) 

any other false or misleading indication as to the provenance, origin, nature or 
essential qualities of the product that is used on the inner or outer packaging, 
advertising  material,  documents  or  information  provided  on  websites relating 
to the product concerned, and the packing of the product in a container liable to 
convey a false impression as to its origin; 

(d) 

any  other  practice  liable  to  mislead  the  consumer  as  to  the  true  origin  of  the 
product. 

For  the  purposes  of  paragraph  (1),  point  (b),  the  evocation  of  a  geographical 
indication  shall  arise,  in  particular,  where  a  term,  sign,  or  other  labelling  or 
packaging  device  presents  a  direct  and  clear  link  with  the  product  covered  by  the 
registered  geographical  indication in  the  mind  of  the  reasonably  circumspect 
consumer,  thereby  exploiting,  weakening,  diluting  or  being  detrimental  to  the 
reputation of the registered name. 

paragraph  (1) shall  also  apply to a  domain  name  containing  or  consisting  of  the 
registered geographical indication. 

The protection referred to in paragraph (1) also applies to: 

(a) 

goods  entering  the  customs  territory  of  the  Union  without  being  released  for 
free circulation within that territory; and 

(b)  goods sold by means of distance selling, such as electronic commerce.  

The  recognised  group  of  producers  or  any  operator  that  is  entitled  to  use  the 
protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication shall be entitled 
to prevent all third parties from bringing goods, in the course of trade, into the Union 
without  being  released  for  free  circulation  there,  where  such  goods,  including 
packaging, come from third countries and are in breach of paragraph (1). 

Geographical indications protected under this Regulation shall not become generic in 
the Union. 

Where a geographical indication is a compound name which contains a term which is 
considered to be generic, the use of that term shall not constitute a conduct referred 
to inparagraph (1), point (a) and (b). 

Article 28 

Ingredients in processed products 

Article 27 is without prejudice to the use of a geographical indication by operators in 
conformity  with  Article  36 to  indicate  that  a  processed  product  contains,  as  an 
ingredient,  a  product  designated  by  that  geographical  indication  provided  that  such 
use  is  made  in  accordance  with  honest  commercial  practices  and  does  not  weaken, 
dilute or is not detrimental to the reputation of the geographical indication. 

The geographical indication designating a product ingredient shall not be used in the 
food name of the related processed product, except in cases of an agreement with a 
producer group representing two thirds of the producers.  

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article  84 supplementing  this  Regulation  by  additional  rules  on the  use  of 
geographical  indications to  identify ingredients in processed products  referred to  in 
paragraph (1) of this Article. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

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Article 29 

Generic terms 

Generic terms shall not be registered as geographical indications. 

To establish whether or not a term has become generic, account shall be taken of all 
relevant factors, in particular: 

(a) the existing situation in the areas of consumption; 

(b) the relevant national or Union legal acts. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article  84 supplementing  this  Regulation  by additional  rules  for  determining  the 
generic status of terms referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article. 

Article 30 

Homonymous geographical indications 

A  geographical  indication  that  has  been  applied  for  after  a  wholly  or  partly 
homonymous geographical indication had been applied for or protected in the Union, 
shall  not  be  registered unless  there  is  sufficient  distinction  in  practice  between  the 
conditions  of  local  and  traditional  usage  and  the  presentation  of  the  two 
homonymous indications, taking into account the need to ensure equitable treatment 
of the producers concerned and that consumers are not misled as to the true identity 
or geographical origin of the products. 

A wholly or partly homonymous name which misleads the consumer into believing 
that products come from another territory shall not be registered even if the name for 
the actual territory, region or place of origin of the products in question is accurate. 

For the purposes of this Article, a homonymous geographical indication applied for 
or protected in the Union refers to: 

(a) 

geographical indications that are entered in the Union register of geographical 
indications; 

(b)  geographical  indications  that  have  been  applied  for  provided  that  they  are 

subsequently entered in the Union register of geographical indications; 

(c) 

appellations  of  origin  and  geographical  indications  protected  in  the  Union 
pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1753 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council45; and 

(d)  geographical  indications,  names  of  origin  and  equivalent  terms  protected 
pursuant  to  an  international  agreement  between  the  Union  and  one  or  more 
third countries. 

The  Commission  shall  cancel  the  geographical  indications  registered  in  breach  of 
paragraph (1) and (2). 

The implementing acts referred to in paragraph (4) shall be adopted without applying 
the procedure referred to in Article 53(2). 

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

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

45 

EN 

45 

  EN 

 
                                                 
Article 31 

Trade marks 

A  name  shall  not  be  registered as  a  geographical  indication  where,  in  the  light  of  a  trade 
mark's reputation and renown, registration of the name proposed as a geographical indication 
could mislead the consumer as to the true identity of the product. 

Article 32 

Producer groups 

1. 

A  producer  group  shall  be  set  up  on  the  initiative  of  interested  stakeholders, 
including  farmers,  farm  suppliers,  intermediate  processors  and  final  processors,  as 
specified  by  the  national  authorities  and  according  to  the  nature  of  the  product 
concerned.  Member  States  shall  verify  that  the  producer  group  operates  in  a 
transparent  and democratic manner and that all producers of the product  designated 
by  the  geographical  indication  enjoy  right  of  membership  in  the  group.  Member 
States  may  provide  that  public  officials,  and  other  stakeholders  such  as  consumer 
groups, retailers and suppliers, also participate in the works of the producer group. 

2. 

A  producer  group  may  exercise 
responsibilities: 

in  particular 

the  following  powers  and 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

develop  the  product specification  and  manage  internal  controls  that  ensure 
compliance of production steps of the product designated by the geographical 
indication with the said specification; 

take legal action to ensure protection of the geographical indication and of the 
intellectual property rights that are directly connected with it;  

agree  sustainability  undertakings,  whether  or  not  included  in  the  product 
specification or as a separate initiative, including arrangements for verification 
of  compliance  with  those  undertakings  and  assuring  adequate  publicity  for 
them notably in an information system provided by the Commission;  

(d) 

take  action  to  improve  the  performance  of  the  geographical  indication, 
including: 

(i) 

development,  organisation and  conduct  of collective  marketing  and 
advertising campaigns; 

(ii)  dissemination  of information  and  promotion  activities  aiming  at 
communicating the attributes of the product designated by a geographical 
indication to consumers; 

(iii)  carrying  out  analyses  into  the  economic  performance,  sustainability  of 
production,  nutritional  profile,  and  organoleptic  profile,  of  the  product 
designated by the geographical indication;   

(iv)  dissemination  of information  on  the  geographical  indication  and  the 

relevant Union symbol; and 

(v)  providing advice  and training to  current  and  future producers, including 

on gender mainstreaming and equality. 

(e) 

combat counterfeiting and suspected fraudulent uses on the internal market of a 
geographical  indication designating  products  that  are  not  in  compliance  with 
the product specification, by monitoring the use of the geographical indication 

EN 

46 

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the 

internal  market  and  on 

across 
the 
geographical  indications  are  protected,  including  on  the  internet,  and,  as 
necessary, inform enforcement authorities using confidential systems available. 

third  countries markets  where 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Article 33 

Recognised producer groups 

Upon a request of producer groups fulfilling the conditions of paragraph 3, Member 
States shall designate, in accordance with their national law, one producer group as 
recognised  producer  group  for  each  geographical  indication  originating  in  their 
territory that is registered or is subject to an application for registration or for product 
names that are a potential subject for application for registration. 

A producer group may be designated as recognised producer group subject to a prior 
agreement  concluded  between  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  producers  of  the  product 
bearing a geographical indication, accounting for at least two-thirds of the production 
of that product in the geographical area referred to in the product specification. As an 
exception,  an  authority,  as  referred  to  in  Article  8(2),  and  a  single  producer,  as 
referred to in Article 8(3), shall be deemed to be a recognised producer group. 

In  addition  to  the  powers  and  responsibilities  referred  to  in  Article  32(2),  a 
recognised producer group may exercise the following powers and responsibilities: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

to liaise with intellectual property enforcement and anti-counterfeit bodies and 
participate  in  intellectual  property  enforcement  networks  as  the  geographical 
indication right holder; 

to  take  enforcement  actions,  including  filing  applications  for  actions  with 
custom authorities, to prevent or counter any measures which are, or risk being, 
detrimental to the image of their products; 

to  recommend  to  the  national  authorities  binding  rules  to  be  adopted  in 
accordance  with  Article  166a  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  1308/2013  for  the 
regulation of the supply of products designated by a geographical indication; 

(d)  with  a  view  to  protecting  the  geographical  indication  in  the  internet  domain 
name systems  outside  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Union,  to  register  an  individual, 
collective  or  certification  trade  mark  depending  on  the  trade  mark  system 
concerned,  containing,  as  one  of  its  prominent  elements,  a  geographical 
indication  and  restricted  to  product  conforming  to  the  corresponding  product 
specification. 

The powers and responsibilities referred to in paragraph 2 shall be subject to a prior 
agreement  concluded  between  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  producers  of  the  product 
designated  by  a  geographical  indication,  accounting  for  at  least  two-thirds  of  the 
production  of  that  product  in  the  geographical  area  referred  to  in  the  product 
specification. 

Member States shall carry out checks in order to ensure that the conditions laid down 
in paragraph 2 are complied with. Where the competent national authorities find that 
such conditions have not been complied with, Member States shall annul the decision 
on the recognition of the producer group. 

EN 

47 

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1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Article 34 

Protection of geographical indication rights in domain names 

Country-code top-level  domain name registries established in  the Union may, upon 
the request of a natural or legal person having a legitimate interest or rights, revoke 
or  transfer  a  domain  name  registered  under  such  country-code  top-level  domain  to 
the  recognised  producer  group  of  the  products  with  the  geographical  indication 
concerned,  following  an  appropriate  alternative  dispute  resolution  procedure  or 
judicial  procedure,  if  such  domain  name  has  been  registered  by  its  holder  without 
rights or legitimate interest in the geographical indication or if it has been registered 
or is being used in bad faith and its use contravenes Article 27. 

Country-code top-level domain name registries established in the Union shall ensure 
that  any  alternative  dispute  resolution  procedure  established  to  solve  disputes 
relating to  the  registration  of  domain  names  referred  to  in paragraph  (1),  shall 
recognise  geographical  indications  as  rights  that  may  prevent  a  domain  name  from 
being registered or used in bad faith. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance 
withArticle84 supplementing  this  Regulation  by  provisions  entrusting  EUIPO  to 
establish  and  manage  a  domain  name  information  and  alert  system  that  would 
provide  the  applicant,  upon  the  submission  of  an  application  for  a  geographical 
indication, with information about the availability of the geographical indication as a 
domain name and, on optional  basis, the registration of a domain name identical  to 
their geographical indication. That delegated act shall also include the obligation for 
registries  of  country-code  top-level  domain  names,  established  in  the  Union,  to 
provide EUIPO with the relevant information and data.  

Article 35 

Conflicting trade marks 

The registration of a trade mark the use of which would contravene Article 27 shall 
be rejected if the application for registration of the trade mark is submitted after the 
date  of  submission  to  the  Commission  of  the  application  for  the  registration  of  the 
geographical indication. 

Trade  marks  registered  in  breach  of  paragraph  (1)  shall  be  invalidated  by 
EUIPO and, when applicable, the competent national authorities. 

A trade mark the use of which contravenes Article 27, which has  been applied for, 
registered, or established by use in good faith within the territory of the Union, if that 
possibility is provided for by the legislation concerned, before the date on which the 
application  for  registration of  the  geographical  indication  is submitted  to  the 
Commission, may continue to be used and renewed notwithstanding the registration 
of a geographical indication, provided that no grounds for invalidity or revocation of 
the trade mark exist under Directive (EU) 2015/2436 or Regulation (EU) 2017/1001. 
In such cases,  the use of the geographical  indication,  if then registered, and that of 
the relevant trade mark shall be permitted. 

For  geographical  indications  registered  in  the  Union  without  the  submission  of  a 
Union  application  for  registration,  the  date  of  the  first  day  of  protection  shall  be 
deemed  to  be  the  date  of  submission  to  the  Commission  of  the  application  for 
registration of the geographical indication for the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 3.    

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5. 

Without  prejudice  to  Regulation  (EU)  No  1169/2011,  guarantee  or  certification 
marks referred to in Article 28(4) of Directive (EU) 2015/2436 and collective marks 
referred to in Article 29(3) of that Directive may be used on labels, together with the 
geographical indication. 

Article 36 

Right of use 

A  registered  geographical  indication  may  be  used  by  any  operator  marketing  a  product 
conforming  to  the  corresponding  product specification  or single  document  or  an  equivalent 
to the latter. 

Member  States  shall  ensure  that  any  operator  complying  with  the  rules  set  out  in  this 
Title is   covered  by  the  verification  of  compliance of  the  product  specification  established 
pursuant to Article 39. Member States may charge a fee to cover their costs of managing the 
controls system.  

The circumstance by which a geographical indication consists of or contains the name of the 
estate of  a  single  applicant  producer  shall  not  prevent  other  producers  and  operators  from 
using the registered geographical indication provided that it is used to designate a product that 
is in conformity with the product specification. 

Article 37 

Union symbols, indications and abbreviations 

1. 

The  following  Union  symbols  designed  to  mark  and  publicise  geographical 
indications shall be established: 

(a) 

(b) 

a  symbol  identifying  protected  designations  of  origin  of  wine and  of 
agricultural products; and 

a  symbol  identifying  protected  geographical  indications  of  wine and  of 
agricultural products and geographical indications of spirit drinks. 

In  the  case  of  products  originating  in  the  Union  that  are  marketed  under  a 
geographical  indication,  the  Union  symbol  associated  with  it  shall  appear  on  the 
labelling  and  advertising  material.  The  geographical  indication  shall  appear  in  the 
same  field  of  vision  as  the  Union  symbol. The  labelling  requirements  laid  down in 
Article  13(1)  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  1169/2011  for  the  presentation  of  mandatory 
particulars shall apply to the geographical indication. 

By  way  of  derogation  from  paragraph  (2),  in  the  case  of  wine and  spirit  drinks 
originating  in  the  Union  that  are  marketed  under  a  geographical  indication,  Union 
symbols  may  be  omitted  from  the  labelling  and  advertising  material  of  the  product 
concerned. 

The  Union  symbol  for  protected  geographical  indications  established  pursuant  to 
paragraph  (1) may  be  used  in  the  description,  presentation  and  labelling  of  spirit 
drinks the names of which are geographical indications. 

Where  wine,  agricultural  products  or  spirit  drinks  are designated  by  a  geographical 
indication the indications ‘protected designation of origin’ or ‘protected geographical 
indication’  shall  appear  on  the  labelling  of  wine, the  indications  ‘protected 
designation  of  origin’  or  ‘protected  geographical  indication’  may  appear  on  the 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

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49 

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labelling  of  agricultural  products  and the  indication ‘geographical  indication’  may 
appear on the labelling of spirit drinks, respectively.  

The  abbreviations  ‘PDO’  or  ‘PGI’,  corresponding  to  the  indications  ‘protected 
designation  of  origin’  or  ‘protected  geographical  indication’,  may  appear  on  the 
labelling  of  wine and  of  agricultural  products  designated  by  a  geographical 
indication. 

Indications,  abbreviations  and  Union  symbols  may  be  used  in  the  labelling  and 
advertising  materials  of  processed  products  when the  geographical  indication  refers 
to  an  ingredient  thereof.  In  that  case,  the  indication,  abbreviation  or  Union  symbol 
shall  be  placed  next  to  the  name  of  the  ingredient  that  is  clearly  identified  as  an 
ingredient. The Union symbol shall not be placed in association with the name of the 
food  within  the  meaning  of  Article  17  of Regulation  (EU)  No  1169/2011 or  in  a 
manner  that  suggests  to  the  consumer  that  the  processed  product  rather  than  the 
ingredient is the object of registration. 

After the  submission  of  a  Union  application  for  the  registration of  a  geographical 
indication,  producers  may  indicate  on  the  labelling  and  in  the  presentation  of  the 
product that an application for registration has been filed in compliance with Union 
law. 

Union  symbols  indicating  the  protected  designation  of  origin  or  protected 
geographical indication and the Union indications ‘protected designation of origin’, 
‘protected  geographical 
the 
abbreviations ‘PDO’ or ‘PGI’ as relevant, may appear on the labelling only after the 
publication of the act of registration of that geographical indication. 

indication’  and 

indication’  and 

‘geographical 

Where an application is rejected, any products labelled in accordance with paragraph 
(6) may be marketed until the stocks are exhausted. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

The following may also appear on the labelling: 

11. 

12. 

(a) 

(b) 

depictions  of  the  geographical  area  of  origin referred  to  in  the  product 
specification; and 

text, graphics or symbols referring to the Member State and the region in which 
that geographical area of origin is located.  

Union symbols associated with geographical indications entered in the Union register 
of geographical  indications designating products  originating in  third countries, may 
appear on the product labelling and advertising material, in which case the symbols 
shall be used in conformity with paragraph (2) and (4). 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  establishing  the  Union  symbols  for 
geographical indications, defining the technical characteristics of the Union symbols 
for  geographical  indications  as  well  as  the  rules  on  their  use  and  the  use  of  the 
indications and abbreviations on products marketed under a registered geographical 
indication, including rules concerning the appropriate linguistic versions to be used. 
Those  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination 
procedure referred to in Article 53(2). 

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Chapter 4 
Controls and enforcement 

Article 38 

Scope 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

This  Chapter  covers  controls  and  enforcement  of geographical  indications  of 
spirit drinks and of agricultural products. 

For the purposes of this Chapter, controls include: 

(a) 

verification  that  a  product  designated  by  a  geographical  indication has  been 
produced in compliance with the corresponding product specification; and 

(b)  monitoring of the use of geographical indications in the marketplace. 

When performing the controls  and enforcement activities provided for in this  Title, 
the  responsible  competent  authorities  and  product  certification bodies shall  comply 
with  the  requirements  laid  down  in  Regulation  (EU)  2017/625.  However, Title  VI, 
Chapter  1,  of Regulation  (EU) 2017/625 shall  not  apply  to  controls of  geographical 
indications. 

Article 39 

Verification of compliance with the product specification 

Member  States  shall  draw  up  and  keep  up  to  date  a list  of  producers  of  products 
designated by a geographical indication entered in the Union register of geographical 
indications originating in their territory. 

Producers are  responsible  for  internal  controls  that  ensure  compliance  with  the 
product  specification  of  products  designated  by  geographical  indications  before  the 
product is placed on the market. 

In  addition  to  internal  controls  referred  to  in  paragraph  2,  prior  to  placing  on  the 
market  a  product  designated  by  a  geographical  indication  and  originating  in  the 
Union, third party verification of compliance with the product specification, shall be 
carried out by: 

(a) 

one or more competent authorities within the meaning of Article 3, point (3), of 
Regulation (EU) 2017/625; or 

(b)  one  or  more  product  certification bodies  to  which  responsibilities  have  been 
delegated as referred to in Regulation (EU) 2017/625, Title II, Chapter III.  

In  respect  of  geographical  indications  that  designate  products  originating  in  a 
third country,  verification  of  compliance  with  the  product  specification,  before 
placing the product on the market, shall be carried out by: 

(a) 

a public competent authority designated by the third country; or 

(b)  one or more product certification bodies. 

Where, in accordance with the product specification, a production step is carried out 
by  one  or  more  producers  in  a  country  other  than  the  country  of  the  origin  of  the 
geographical indication, provisions for verification of compliance of those producers 
shall  be  set  out  in  the  product  specification.  If  the  relevant  production  step  takes 

EN 

51 

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place in the Union, the producers shall be notified to the competent authorities of the 
Member State where the production step takes place and be subject to verification as 
a producer of the product designated by the geographical indication. 

Where a Member State applies Article 8(2), the verification of compliance with the 
product specification shall be ensured by an authority other than that deemed to be a 
producer group under that paragraph. 

The costs of verification of compliance with the product specification may be borne 
by  the  operators  which  are  subject  to  those  controls.  The  Member  States  may  also 
contribute to those costs. 

Article 40 

Public information on competent authorities and product certification bodies 

Member  States  shall  make  public  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  competent 
authorities and product certification bodies referred to in Article 39(3) and keep that 
information up-to-date. 

The  Commission  shall  make  public  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  competent 
authorities  and  product  certification  bodies  referred  to  in Article  39(4)  and  update 
that information periodically. 

The Commission may establish a digital portal where the names and addresses of the 
competent authorities and product certification bodies referred to in paragraphs 1 and 
2 are made public. 

6. 

7. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Article 41 

Accreditation of product certification bodies 

1. 

The  product  certification  bodies  referred  to  in  Article  39(3),  point  (b) and Article 
39(4), point (b) shall comply with and be accredited in accordance with: 

(a)  European  standard 

ISO/IEC  17065:2012 

‘Conformity  assessment  — 
Requirements  for  bodies  certifying  products,  processes  and  services, 
including European standard ISO/IEC 17020:2012 ‘Conformity assessment — 
Requirements  for  the  operation  of  various  types  of  bodies  performing 
inspection’; or  

2. 

1. 

(b)  other suitable, internationally recognised standards, including any revisions or 

amended versions of the European standards referred to in point (a). 

Accreditation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be performed by an accreditation body 
recognised  in  accordance  with  Regulation  (EC)  No  765/2008,  that  is  a  member  of 
European  Accreditation,  or  by  an  accreditation  body  outside  the  Union  that  is  a 
member of International Accreditation Forum. 

Article 42 

Controls and enforcement of geographical indications in the marketplace 

Member  States  shall  designate  one  or  more  enforcement  authorities,  which  may  be 
the  same  as  the  competent  authorities  referred  to  in  Article  39(3),  responsible 
for controls in the marketplace and enforcement of geographical indications after the 
product designated by a geographical indication has completed all production steps, 

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2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

whether it is in storage, transit, distribution, or offered for sale at wholesale or retail 
level, including in electronic commerce. 

The  enforcement  authority  shall  carry  out  controls  of  products  designated  by 
geographical  indications  to  ensure  conformity  with  the  product  specification  or  the 
single document or an equivalent to the latter. 

Member States shall take appropriate administrative and judicial steps to prevent or 
stop the use of names of products or services that are produced, operated or marketed 
contravenes the  protection  of  geographical 
in 
indications provided for in Article 27 and Article 28. 

territory 

their 

that 

and 

The  authority  designated  in  accordance  with  paragraph  1  shall  coordinate 
enforcement  of  geographical  indications  among  relevant  departments,  agencies  and 
bodies, including police, anti-counterfeiting agencies, customs, intellectual property 
offices, food law authorities and retail inspectors. 

Article 43 

Obligations applicable to providers of intermediary services 

Sale  of  goods  to  which  persons  established  in  the  Union  have  access,  that 
contravenes Article  27,  shall  be  considered  illegal  content  within  the  meaning  of 
Article 2, point (g) of Regulation (EU) 2022/xxx of the European Parliament and of 
the Council46. 

Competent authorities of the Member States may issue an order to act in accordance 
with Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2022/xxx against illegal content as referred to in 
paragraph 1 of this Article.  

Pursuant  to  Article  14  of  Regulation  (EU)  2022/xxx,  any  individual  or  entity 
may notify providers of hosting services of the presence of a specific content that is 
in breach Article 27 of this Regulation. 

4. 

This regulation is without prejudice to Regulation (EU) 2022/xxx. 

Article 44 

Mutual assistance and exchange of information 

Member States shall assist each other for the purpose of carrying out the controls and 
enforcement  provided  for  in  this  Chapter  in  accordance  with  Regulation  (EU) 
2017/625. 

The Commission may  adopt  implementing acts  detailing the nature and  the type of 
the information to be exchanged and the methods for exchanging information for the 
purpose  of  controls  and  enforcement  under  this  Chapter. Those  implementing  acts 
shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 
53(2). 

Administrative  assistance  may  include,  where  appropriate,  and,  by  agreement 
between  the  competent  authorities  concerned,  participation  by  the  competent 
authorities of a Member State in on-the-spot checks that the competent authorities of 
another Member State perform. 

Regulation  (EU)  […]  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  […]  on  a  Single  Market  For 
Digital Services (DSA) and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (OJ L …, XXX, dd/mm/yyyy, p. X).  

1. 

2. 

3. 

46 

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4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

In  case  of  a  possible  violation  of  protection  conferred  to a  geographical  indication, 
Member  States  shall  take  measures  to  facilitate  the  transmission,  from law 
enforcement authorities, public prosecutors and judicial authorities, to the competent 
authorities referred in Article 39(3) of information on such possible violation. 

For  the  specific  purpose  of  facilitating  the  exchange  of  information  on  non-
compliance or fraud concerning registered geographical indications, Member States 
shall  use  the  information  management  system  established  under  Regulation  (EU) 
2017/625 or any other system that might be established in the future for that purpose. 

Article 45 

Certificates of authorisation to produce 

A  producer  whose  product,  following  the  verification  of  compliance  referred  to 
in Article  39 is  found  to  comply  with  the  product  specification  of  a  geographical 
indication protected in accordance with this Regulation shall be entitled to an official 
certificate,  or  other  proof  of  certification,  of  eligibility  to  produce  the  product 
designated  by  the  geographical  indication  concerned  in  respect  of  the  production 
steps performed by the said producer. 

The  proof  of  certification  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  be  made  available  on 
request to enforcement authorities, customs or other authorities in the Union engaged 
in verifying the use of geographical indications on goods declared for free circulation 
or placed  on the internal market.  The  producer may make the proof of certification 
available  to  the  public  or  to  any  person  who  requests  such  proof  in  the  course  of 
business. 

Chapter 5 
Technical assistance  

Article 46 

 Scrutiny of third country geographical indications 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with  Article 
84 supplementing  this  Regulation  by  rules  on  entrusting  EUIPO  with  the  scrutiny  of  third 
country geographical indications, other than geographical indications under the Geneva Act of 
the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications, proposed for 
protection pursuant to international negotiations or international agreements. 

Article 47 

 Monitoring and reporting 

1. 

Where  the  Commission  exercises  any  of  the  empowerments  provided  for  in  this 
Regulation to entrust tasks to EUIPO, it shall also be empowered to adopt delegated 
acts in  accordance  with  Article  84  to  supplement  this  Regulation  by  criteria  for 
monitoring performance in the execution of such tasks. Such criteria may include: 

(a) 

the extent of integration of agricultural factors in the scrutiny process; 

(b)  quality of assessments; 

(c) 

coherence of assessments of geographical indications from different sources; 

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(d) 

efficiency of tasks; and 

(e) 

user satisfaction.  

2. 

No  later  than  5 years  after  the  first  delegation  of  any tasks  to  EUIPO,  the 
Commission shall prepare and submit a report to the European Parliament and to the 
Council on the results and experience of the exercise of these tasks by EUIPO. 

Chapter 6 
Geographical indications of agricultural products 

Article 48 

Designations of origin and geographical indications 

1. 

A  ‘designation  of  origin’  of  an  agricultural  product  is  a  name which  identifies  a 
product: 

(a) 

originating in a specific place, region or, in exceptional cases, a country; 

(b)  whose  quality  or  characteristics  are  essentially  or  exclusively  due  to  a 
particular  geographical  environment  with  its  inherent  natural  and  human 
factors; and 

(c) 

the production steps of which all take place in the defined geographical area. 

2. 

 A ‘geographical indication’ of an agricultural product is  a name which identifies a 
product: 

(a) 

originating in a specific place, region or country; 

(b)  whose given quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable 

to its geographical origin; and 

(c) 

at  least  one  of  the  production  steps  of  which  takes  place  in  the  defined 
geographical area. 

3. 

The  following  agricultural  products  are  excluded  from  being  the  subject  of  a 
protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication: 

(a) 

products  that  by  their  nature  cannot  be  traded  within  the  internal  market  and 
can  only  be  consumed  in  or  near  their  place  of  manufacture,  such  as 
restaurants; 

(b)  products  that,  without  prejudice  to the  rules  referred  to  in Article  5(2),  are 
contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality and may not be 
placed on the internal market. 

4. 

Notwithstanding  paragraph  1,  certain  names  shall  be  registered as  designations  of 
origin  even  though  the  raw  materials  for  the  products  concerned  come  from  a 
geographical  area  larger  than,  or  different  from,  the  defined  geographical  area, 
provided that: 

(a) 

the production area of the raw materials is defined; 

(b) 

special conditions for the production of the raw materials exist; 

(c) 

there are control arrangements to ensure that the conditions referred to in point 
(b) are adhered to; and 

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5. 

6. 

7. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

(d) 

the designations of origin in question were recognised as designations of origin 
in the country of origin before 1 May 2004. 

Only  live  animals,  meat  and  milk  may  be  considered  as  raw  materials  for  the 
purposes of this paragraph. 

For  the  purposes  of  paragraph  (2),  point  (b),  ‘other  characteristic’  may include 
traditional  production  practices,  traditional  product  attributes  and  farming  practices 
that  protect  environmental  value 
including  biodiversity,  habitats,  nationally 
recognised environmental zones and landscape. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article 84 concerning restrictions and derogations with regard to the sourcing of feed 
in the case of a designation of origin. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts  in  accordance 
with Article  84  concerning  restrictions  and  derogations  with  regard  to  the 
slaughtering  of  live  animals  or  with  regard  to  the  sourcing  of  raw  materials.  These 
restrictions  and  derogations  shall,  based  on  objective  criteria,  take  into  account 
quality or usage and recognised know-how or natural factors. 

Article 49 

Plant varieties and animal breeds 

A name may not be registered as a geographical indication where it conflicts with a 
denomination of a plant variety or animal breed and is likely to mislead the consumer 
as  to  the  true  identity  or  origin  of  the  product  designated  by  the  geographical 
indication  or  cause  confusion  between  products  designated  by  the  geographical 
indication and the variety or breed in question. 

The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) shall be assessed in relation to the actual 
use  of  the  names  in  conflict,  including  the  use  of  the  denomination  of  the  plant 
variety or animal breed outside its area of origin and the use of the denomination of a 
plant variety protected by Community plant variety rights. 

This Regulation shall not prevent the placing on the market of a product that does not 
conform  with  the  product  specification  of  a  registered  geographical  indication,  the 
labelling  of  which  includes  the name  or  part  of  the  name  of  that  geographical 
indication, that contains or comprises the denomination of a plant variety or animal 
breed, provided that the following conditions are met: 

(a) 

the  product  in  question  comprises  or  is  derived  from  the  variety  or  breed 
indicated; 

(b) 

consumers are not misled; 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

the  usage  of  the  denomination  of  the  variety  or  breed  name  constitutes  fair 
competition; 

the  usage  does  not  exploit  the  reputation  of  the  registered  geographical 
indication; and 

the production and marketing of the product in question had spread beyond its 
area  of  origin  prior  to  the  date  of  application  for  registration  of  the 
geographical indication. 

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4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts  in  accordance  with 
Article  84 concerning  rules  for  determining  the  use  of  denominations  of  plant 
varieties and animal breeds. 

Article 50 

Specific rules on sourcing of feed and of raw materials 

For the purposes of Article 48, feed shall be sourced entirely from within the defined 
geographical  area  in  respect  of  products  of  animal  origin  the  name  of  which  is 
registered as a designation of origin. 

Insofar  as  sourcing  entirely  from  within  the  defined  geographical  area  is  not 
technically practicable, feed sourced from  outside that area can be added, provided 
that  the  product  quality  or  characteristic  essentially  due  to  the  geographical 
environment  are  not  affected.  Feed  sourced  from  outside  the  defined  geographical 
area shall not exceed 50 % of dry matter on an annual basis. 

Any restrictions to the origin of raw materials provided in the product specification 
of  a  product  the  name  of  which  is  registered  as  a  geographical  indication  shall  be 
justified with respect to the link referred to in Article 51(1), point (f) . 

Article 51 

Product specification 

Products  the  names  of  which  are  registered  as  a  designation  of  origin  or  a 
geographical indication shall comply with a product specification which shall include 
at least: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

the name to be protected as a designation of origin or geographical indication, 
which  may  be  either  a  geographical  name  of  the  place  of  production  of  a 
specific product,  or  a name used in trade or in  common language to describe 
the specific product in the defined geographical area; 

a description of the product, including where relevant, the raw materials, plant 
varieties  and  animal  breeds  concerned,  including  the  commercial  designation 
of  the  species  and  its  scientific  name,  as  well  as  the  principal  physical, 
chemical, microbiological or organoleptic characteristics of the product; 

the definition of the delimited geographical area creating the link referred to in 
point  (f)(i)  or  (ii),  and,  where  appropriate,  details  indicating  compliance  with 
the requirements of Article 48(4) ; 

evidence that the product originates in the defined geographical area specified 
in accordance with Article 48(1), point (c), or Article 48(2), point (c); 

a  description  of  the  method  of  obtaining  the  product  and,  where  appropriate, 
the  traditional  methods  and  specific  practices  used;  as  well  as  information 
concerning packaging, if the applicant group so determines and gives sufficient 
product-specific  justification  as  to  why  the  packaging  must  take  place  in  the 
defined geographical area to safeguard quality, to ensure the origin or to ensure 
control, taking into account Union law, in particular that on the free movement 
of goods and the free provision of services; 

(f) 

details establishing the following: 

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(i) 

as  regards  a  designation  of  origin,  the  link  between  the  quality  or 
characteristics of the product and the geographical environment referred 
to  in  Article  48(1),  point  (b). The  details  concerning  human  factors  of 
that  geographical  environment  may,  where  relevant,  be  limited  to  a 
description  of  the  soil  and  landscape  management,  cultivation  practices 
or  any  other  relevant  human  contribution  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
natural  factors  of  the  geographical  environment  referred  to  in that 
provision; 

(ii) 

as regards a geographical indication, the link between a given quality, the 
reputation  or  other  characteristic  of  the  product  and  the  geographical 
origin referred to in Article 48(2), point (b);   

(g) 

any specific labelling rule for the product in question; 

(h)  other  applicable  requirements  where  provided  for  by  Member  States  or  by 
a producer group, if applicable, having regard to the fact that such requirements 
must be objective, non-discriminatory and compatible with national and Union 
law. 

The product specification may also include sustainability undertakings. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article  84 concerning rules  which  limit  the  information  contained  in  the  product 
specification  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  of  this  Article,  where  such  a  limitation  is 
necessary to avoid excessively voluminous applications for registration. 

The Commission may adopt implementing acts laying down rules on the form of the 
product specification. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with 
the examination procedure referred to in Article 53(2).  

2. 

3. 

4. 

Article 52 

Single document 

1. 

The single document shall comprise: 

(a) 

(b) 

the main points of the product specification, namely: the name, a description of 
the product, including, where appropriate, specific rules concerning packaging 
and labelling and a concise definition of the geographical area; 

a description of the link between the product and the geographical environment 
or geographical  origin  referred to  in  Article 51(1), point  (f), including, where 
appropriate,  the  specific  elements  of  the  product  description  or  production 
method justifying that link. 

2. 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  defining  the  format  and  the  online 
presentation of the single document provided for in paragraph 1 and providing for the 
exclusion  or  anonymisation  of  protected  personal  data.  Those  implementing  acts 
shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 
53(2). 

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Chapter 7 
Procedural provisions 

Article 53 

Committee procedure 

The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  a  committee,  called  the  Geographical 
Indications Committee. That Committee shall be a committee within the meaning of 
Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.  

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  Article  5  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 
182/2011 shall apply. 

Title III 
Quality schemes 

Chapter 1 
Traditional specialities guaranteed 

Article 54 

Objective and scope 

A scheme for traditional specialities guaranteed is established to safeguard traditional 
methods  of  production  and  recipes  by  helping  producers  of  traditional  product  in 
marketing and communicating the value-adding attributes of their traditional recipes 
and products to consumers. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

This Chapter applies to agricultural products. 

For  the  purposes  of  this  Chapter,  agricultural  products  means agricultural  products 
intended for human consumption listed in Annex I to the Treaty on the Functioning 
of the European Union and other agricultural products and foodstuffs listed in Annex 
II to this Regulation. 

This Chapter shall not apply to spirit drinks, aromatised wines or grapevine products 
as  defined  in  Part  II  of  Annex  VII  to  Regulation  (EU)  No  1308/2013,  with  the 
exception of wine-vinegars. 

3. 

The registration and the  protection of traditional specialities  guaranteed are without 
prejudice  to  the  obligation of  producers  to  comply  with  other  Union  rules,  in 
particular  relating  to  the  placing  of  products  on  the  market,  to  the  single  common 
organisation of the markets, and to food labelling. 

Article 55 

Eligibility criteria 

1. 

A name shall be eligible for registration as a traditional speciality guaranteed where 
it describes a specific product that: 

(a) 

results from a mode of production, processing or composition corresponding to 
traditional practice for that product or foodstuff; or 

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(b) 

is produced from raw materials or ingredients traditionally used. 

2. 

For a name to be registered as a traditional speciality guaranteed, it shall: 

(a) 

have been traditionally used to refer to the product; or 

(b) 

identify the traditional character or of the product. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

 Where in the opposition procedure under Article 62 it is demonstrated that the name 
is  also  used  in  another  Member  State  or  in  a  third  country,  in  order  to  distinguish 
comparable products or products that share an identical or similar name, the decision 
on registration adopted in accordance with Article 65(3) may provide that the name 
of  the  traditional  speciality  guaranteed  is  to  be  accompanied  by  the  claim  ‘made 
following  the  tradition  of’  immediately  followed  by  the  name  of  a  country  or  a 
region thereof. 

A name may not be registered if it refers only to claims of a general nature used for a 
set of products, or to claims provided for by particular Union legislation. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance 
with Article  84 supplementing  this  Regulation  with  further  details  of  the  eligibility 
criteria laid down in this Article. 

Article 56 

Product specification 

1. 

A traditional speciality  guaranteed shall comply  with  a product  specification  which 
shall comprise: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

the  product  name  proposed  for  registration,  in  the  appropriate  language 
versions; 

a  description  of 
microbiological or organoleptic characteristics; 

the  product 

including 

its  main  physical,  chemical, 

a  description  of  the  production  method  that  the  producers  must  follow, 
including, where appropriate, the nature and characteristics of the raw materials 
or  ingredients  used,  if  relevant  including  the  commercial  designation  of  the 
species involved and its scientific name, and the method by which the product 
is prepared; and 

(d) 

the key elements establishing the product’s traditional character. 

2. 

3. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article  84 laying  down  rules  which  limit  the  information  contained  in  the 
specification  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  of  this  Article,  where  such  a  limitation  is 
necessary to avoid excessively voluminous applications for registration. 

The Commission may adopt implementing acts laying down rules on the form of the 
product specification. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with 
the examination procedure referred to in Article 80(2). 

Article 57 

National stage of the procedure of registration  

1. 

Applications  for  the  registration  of  a  traditional  speciality  guaranteed  may  only  be 
submitted by groups of producers of  products with the name to be protected. Several 

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2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

groups from different Member States or third countries may lodge a joint application 
for registration.  

An application for registration of a name as a traditional speciality guaranteed shall 
comprise: 

(a) the name and address of the applicant group of producers; 

(b) the product specification as provided for in Article 56. 

Where the application is prepared by a group of producers established in a Member 
State, the application shall be addressed to the authorities of that Member State. The 
Member State shall scrutinise the application in order to check that it is justified and 
meets the conditions of the eligibility criteria referred to in Article 55. As part of the 
scrutiny,  the  Member  State  shall  manage  a  national  opposition  procedure.  If  the 
Member State considers that the requirements of this Chapter are met, it may take a 
favourable  decision  and  lodge  a  Union  application  for  registration  with  the 
Commission. 

The  Member  State  shall  ensure  that  its  decision,  be  it  favourable  or  not,  is  made 
public  and  that  any  natural  or  legal  person  having  a  legitimate  interest  has  an 
opportunity to  challenge that decision. The Member State shall also  ensure that the 
product specification on which its favourable decision is based is published, and shall 
provide electronic access to the product specification. 

Where the application, including a joint application, is prepared by a group or groups 
of  producers established  in  a  third country,  the  application  shall  be  lodged  either 
directly or via the authorities of the third country concerned. 

Article 58 

Union application for registration  

A  Union  application  for  the  registration  of  a  traditional  speciality  guaranteed  shall 
comprise: 

(a) the elements referred to in Article 57(2); and 

(b) for Member States only, a declaration by the Member State that it considers that 
the application lodged by the applicant group meets the conditions of registration. 

Where  a  joint  application,  referred  to  in Article  57(1)  is  submitted,  the  application 
shall  be  submitted  to  the  Commission  by  one  of  the  Member  States  concerned.  It 
shall  include,  as  relevant,  the  elements  referred  to  in Article  57(2) as  well  as  the 
declaration  referred  to  in  paragraph  1,  point  (b),  of  this  Article  from  all  Member 
States  concerned.  The  related  national  procedures,  including  the  opposition  stage, 
shall be carried out in all the Member States concerned.  

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts  in  accordance 
withArticle  84 supplementing 
joint 
applications  for  the  registration  of  a  traditional  speciality  guaranteed  concerning 
more than one national territory and the application process.  

this  Regulation  by  additional rules 

for 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  laying  down  detailed  rules  on 
procedures,  the  form  and  presentation  of  applications  for  registration,  including  for 
applications  for  the  registration  of  a  traditional  speciality  guaranteed  concerning 
more  than  one  national  territory.  Those  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in 
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in  Article 80(2). 

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1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

Article 59 

Submission of the Union application for registration 

A Union application for the registration of a traditional speciality guaranteed shall be 
submitted  to  the  Commission  electronically,  through  a  digital  system.  The  digital 
system shall have capacity to allow submission of applications to national authorities 
of  a  Member  State,  and  shall  have  capacity  to  be  used  by  a  Member  State  in  its 
national procedure. 

The  digital  system  shall  have  capacity  to  allow  submission  of  applications  by 
applicants  established  outside  the  Union  and  by  national  authorities  of  third 
countries. 

Information  on  Union  applications  for  registration  shall  be  made  public  by  the 
Commission  upon 
to 
in paragraph(1) 

the  digital  system  referred 

their  submission 

through 

Scrutiny by the Commission and publication for opposition 

Article 60 

The Commission shall scrutinise any application that it receives pursuant to Article 
65(1) in  order  to  check  that  it contains  no  manifest  errors,  that  the  information 
provided in accordance with Article 58 is complete, that the product specification is 
precise  and 
requirements laid  down 
inArticle55 andArticle56 are  fulfilled.  Such  a  scrutiny  shall  take  into  account  the 
outcome  of  the  national  stage  of  the  procedure  carried  out  by  the  Member  State 
concerned. 

in  nature  and 

technical 

that 

the 

The scrutiny should not  exceed a period of 6 months.  In the event  that the scrutiny 
period  exceeds  or  is  likely  to  exceed  6  months  the  Commission  shall  inform  the 
applicant of the reasons for the delay in writing. 

The Commission may seek supplementary information from the applicant. 

Where,  based  on  the  scrutiny  carried  out  pursuant  to  paragraph  1,  the  Commission 
considers that the conditions laid down in this Chapter are fulfilled, it shall publish 
the product specification in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 61 

National challenge to an application for registration 

Member States  shall keep the Commission  informed of  any national  administrative 
or  judicial  proceedings  that  may  affect  the  registration  of  a  traditional  speciality 
guaranteed.  In  such  a  case,  Member  States  may  request  the  Commission  to 
suspend the examination procedure for a period of 12 months which can be renewed. 

The Member State shall inform  the Commission without delay if the application to 
the Commission has been invalidated at national level by an immediately applicable 
but not final judicial decision. In this case, the Commission shall be exempted from 
the  obligation  to  meet  the  deadline  to  perform  the  scrutiny  referred  to  in Article 
60(2)  and to inform the applicant of the reasons for the delay. 

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3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

If the application to the Commission has been invalidated by a final decision taken 
by  a  national  court,  the  Member  State  shall  consider  appropriate  action  such  as 
withdrawal or modification of the application, as necessary. 

Article 62 

Union opposition procedure 

Within  3 months  from  the  date  of  publication  of  the  product  specification  in  the 
Official Journal of the European Union pursuant to Article 60(4), the authorities of a 
Member State or of a third country, or a natural or legal person having a legitimate 
interest  and  established  in  a  third country,  may  lodge  an  opposition  with  the 
Commission. 

Any natural or legal person having a legitimate interest,  established or resident in a 
Member  State  other  than  the  one from  which  the  Union  application  for  registration 
was  submitted,  may  lodge  an  opposition  with  the  Member  State  in  which  it  is 
established, within a time limit permitting an opposition to be lodged pursuant to the 
first paragraph. 

An opposition shall claim that the application could infringe the conditions laid down 
in  this  Chapter  and  give  reasons.  An  opposition  that  does  not  contain  the  said 
claim shall be void.  

The Commission shall check the admissibility of the opposition. If the Commission 
considers that the opposition is admissible it shall, within 5 months from the date of 
publication of the product specification in the Official Journal of the European Union 
invite the  authority  or  person  that  lodged  the  opposition  and  the  authority  or  the 
applicant that  lodged  the  application  to  engage  in  appropriate  consultations  for  a 
reasonable period that shall not exceed 3 months. At any time during that period, the 
Commission may, at the request of the authority or the applicant, extend the deadline 
for the consultations by a maximum of 3 months. 

The authority or person that lodged the opposition and the authority or applicant that 
lodged  the  application  shall  start  consultations  without  undue  delay.  They  shall 
provide each other with the relevant information to assess whether the application for 
registration complies with the conditions of this Regulation. 

Within  1 month  from  the  end  of  the  consultations  referred  to  in paragraph(4), the 
applicant established in the third country or the authorities of the Member State or of 
the third country from which the Union application for registration was lodged shall 
notify the Commission of the result of the consultations, including all the information 
exchanged, whether agreement was reached with one or all of the opponents, and of 
any  consequent  changes  to  the  application.  The  authority  or  person  that  lodged  an 
opposition to the Commission may also notify the Commission of its position at the 
end of the consultations. 

Where, following the end of the consultations, the product specification published in 
accordance  with Article  60(4) has been  modified,  the  Commission  shall  repeat  its 
scrutiny  of  the  application  for  registration  as  modified.  Where  the  application  has 
been modified in a substantial manner, and the Commission considers the modified 
application meets the conditions for registration, it shall publish the application once 
more in accordance with that paragraph. 

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8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

The  documents  referred  to  in  this  Article  shall  be  drafted  in  one  of  the  official 
languages of the Union. 

After  completion  of  the  opposition  procedure,  the  Commission  shall  finalise  its 
assessment of the Union application for registration, taking into account any request 
for  transitional  periods,  the  outcome  of  the  opposition  procedure and  any  other 
matters  arising subsequently to its  scrutiny that  may imply  a change of the product 
specification. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance 
with Article  84 complementing  the  rules  for  the  opposition  procedure  to  establish 
detailed procedures and deadlines. 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  laying  down  detailed  rules  on 
procedures, the form and presentation of oppositions. Those implementing acts shall 
be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination  procedure  referred  to in Article 
80(2) . 

Article 63 

Grounds for opposition 

1. 

An  opposition  lodged  in  accordance  with  Article  62shall  be  admissible  only  if  the 
opponent: 

(a)  gives  duly  substantiated  reasons  for  the  incompatibility  of  the  proposed 
registration with the provisions of this Chapter; or 

(b)  demonstrates  that  the  use  of  the  name  is  lawful,  renowned  and  economically 
significant for similar agricultural products. 

The criteria referred to in paragraph 1, point (b), shall be assessed in relation to the 
territory of the Union. 

Article 64 

Transitional periods for the use of traditional specialities guaranteed 

The Commission may by means of implementing acts  grant a transitional  period of 
up to 5 years to enable, for products the designation of which consists of or contains 
a  name  that  contravenes  Article  69,  the  continued  use  of  that designation,  under 
which  they  were marketed,  provided  that  an  admissible  opposition,  under  Article 
57(3) or Article  62, to  the  application  for  registration  of  the  traditional  speciality 
guaranteed whose protection is contravened, shows that such desingnation has been 
legally  used  on  the  internal market  for  at  least  5 years  preceding  the  date  of  the 
publication provided for in Article 60(4) . 

The implementing acts referred to in paragraph 1 shall be adopted in accordance with 
the  examination  procedure  referred  to  in Article  80(2), except  those  where  an 
admissible opposition is lodged under Article 57(3), which shall be adopted without 
applying that examination procedure. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

Article 65 

Commission decision on the application for registration 

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1. 

2. 

Where, on the basis of the information available to the Commission from the scrutiny 
carried  out  pursuant  to   Article  58(3),  the  Commission  considers  that  any  of  the 
requirements  referred  therein is not  fulfilled,  it  shall  adopt  implementing  acts 
rejecting  the  application.  Those  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance 
with the examination procedure referred to in Article 80(2) . 

it  receives  no  admissible  opposition, 

Where 
the  Commission  shall  adopt 
implementing  acts,  without  applying  the  procedure  referred  to  in Article  80(2), 
registering the traditional speciality guaranteed.    

3. 

Where an admissible opposition had been received, the Commission shall: 

(a)  register  the  name  by  means  of  implementing  acts  adopted  without  applying  the 
procedure  referred  to  in Article  80(2),  if  an  agreement  has  been  reached,  after 
checking that the agreement complies with Union law, and, if necessary, amend the 
information  published pursuant  to Article 60(4)  provided such amendments  are not 
substantial; or 

(b) adopt  implementing  acts  deciding  on  the  application  for  registration  if  an 
agreement  has  not  been  reached.  Those  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in 
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 80(2) . 

The acts  registering  a  traditional  speciality  guaranteed shall  provide  for  any 
condition applicable  to  the  registration  and  for  the  republication  for  information 
of the  single  document  published  for  opposition  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the 
European Union in case of any necessary amendments that are not substantial. 

Regulations  of  registration  and  decisions  on  rejection  shall  be  published  in  the 
Official Journal of the European Union, L series. 

Article 66 

Union register of traditional specialities guaranteed 

The  Commission  shall  adopt  implementing  acts,  without  applying  the  procedure 
referred  to  in Article  80(2),  establishing  and  maintaining  a  publicly  accessible 
electronic  register  of  traditional  specialities  guaranteed recognised  under  this 
Regulation (the ‘Union register of traditional specialities guaranteed’). 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  laying  down  detailed  rules  on  the 
form  and  content  of  the Union  register  of  traditional  specialities  guaranteed.  Those 
implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination  procedure 
referred to in Article 80(2). 

Article 67 

Amendments to a product specification   

A  producer  group  having  a  legitimate  interest  may  apply  for  the  approval  of  an 
amendment  to  the product  specification  of  a  traditional  speciality  guaranteed. 
Applications shall describe and give reasons for the amendments requested. 

The  procedure  for  the  amendment  of  a  product  specification  shall  follow,  mutatis 
mutandis, the procedure laid down from Article 57 to Article 65. 

4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

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3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article 84 supplementing the rules regarding the procedure for the amendment of a 
product specification. 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  laying  down  detailed  rules  on 
procedures,  the  form  and  presentation  of  an  application  for  the  amendment  of  a 
product specification. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with 
the examination procedure referred to inArticle 80(2) . 

Article 68 

Cancellation of the registration 

The Commission may, on its own initiative or at the request of any natural or legal 
person having a legitimate interest, adopt implementing acts to cancel the registration 
of a traditional speciality guaranteed in the following cases: 

(a)  where compliance with the product specification is not ensured; 

(b)  where  no  product  is  placed  on  the  market  under  the  traditional  speciality 

guaranteed for at least 7 years. 

The  Commission  may  also  adopt  implementing  acts  cancelling  a  registration at  the 
request of the producers of the product marketed under the registered name. 

The  implementing  acts  referred  to  in  paragraphs  1  and  2  shall  be  adopted  in 
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 80(2). 

 Article  57 to  Article  63 and  Article  65 shall  apply mutatis  mutandis to 
cancellation procedure. 

the 

Before  adopting  the  implementing  acts  referred  to  in  paragraphs  1 and  2,  the 
Commission  shall  consult  the  authorities  of  the  Member  State  concerned,  the 
authorities  of  the  third  country  concerned  or,  where  possible,  the  third  country 
producer which had originally applied for the registration of the traditional speciality 
guaranteed, unless the cancellation is directly requested by those original applicants. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance 
with Article 84 supplementing the rules regarding the cancellation procedure. 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  laying  down  detailed  rules  on 
procedures,  the  form  and  presentation  of  an  application  for  the  cancellation  of  a 
registration.  Those  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the 
examination procedure referred to in Article 80(2). 

Article 69 

Restriction on the use of registered traditional specialities guaranteed 

Registered  traditional  specialities  guaranteed  shall  be  protected  against  any  misuse 
or imitation, including as regards products  used as ingredients,  or against any other 
practice liable to mislead the consumer. 

Member States shall ensure that food names used at national level do not give rise to 
confusion with registered traditional specialities guaranteed. 

The  protection  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  also  apply  with  regard  to  products 
sold through means of distance selling, such as electronic commerce. 

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4. 

5. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance 
with Article  84 laying  down  additional  rules  to  further  detail  the  protection  of 
traditional specialities guaranteed.  

The Commission may  adopt  implementing acts  laying down procedural  and formal 
traditional  specialities  guaranteed.  Those 
requirements  for the  protection  of 
implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination  procedure 
referred to in Article 80(2) . 

Article 70 

Exceptions for certain uses 

1. 

The provisions of this Chapter shall be without prejudice to: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

the use of terms that are generic in the Union, even if the generic term is part of 
a name that is protected as a traditional speciality guaranteed; 

the  placing  on  the  market  of  products  the  labelling  of  which  contains  or 
comprises  the  denomination  of  a  plant  variety  or  animal  breed  used  in  good 
faith; 

the application of Union rules or those of Member States governing intellectual 
property, and in particular those concerning geographical indications and trade 
marks and rights granted under those rules. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article  84 supplementing  this  Regulation  by  additional  rules  for  determining  the 
generic  status  of  terms,  conditions  for  use  of  plant  variety and  animal  breed 
denominations for a traditional speciality guaranteed, and their relation to intellectual 
property rights referred to in this Article. 

Article 71 

Name, Union symbol and indication of a traditional speciality guaranteed 

A name registered as a traditional speciality guaranteed may be used by any operator 
marketing a product that conforms to the corresponding product specification. 

A Union symbol shall be established for use on the labelling of products designated 
as traditional speciality guaranteed. The indication ‘traditional speciality guaranteed’, 
the abbreviation ‘TSG’, and the Union symbol referring to the traditional speciality 
guaranteed  may  only  be  used  in  connection  with  products  produced  in  conformity 
with the relevant product specification. 

In  the  case  of  products  originating  in  the  Union  that  are  marketed  as traditional 
speciality  guaranteed  registered  in  accordance  with  this  Regulation,  the  Union 
symbol  referred  to  in  paragraph  2  shall  appear  on  the  labelling  and  advertising 
materials. The labelling requirements set out in Article 13(1) of Regulation (EU) No 
1169/2011 for the presentation of mandatory particulars shall apply to the registered 
traditional speciality guaranteed. The indication ‘traditional speciality guaranteed’ or 
the corresponding abbreviation ‘TSG’ may appear on the labelling. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

The  Union  symbol  shall  be  optional  on  the  labelling  of  traditional  specialities 
guaranteed which are produced outside the Union. 

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5. 

1. 

2. 

The Commission  shall adopt  implementing  acts  establishing the Union symbol  and 
conditions for its obligatory use, laying down rules for the uniform protection of the 
indication,  abbreviation and  the  Union  symbol  referred  to  in  paragraph  (2),  its use 
and  technical  characteristics.  Those  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in 
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 80(2) . 

Article 72 

Participation in the quality schemes 

Member States shall ensure that any operator complying with the rules set out in this 
Chapter  is  covered  by  the  verification  of  compliance with  the  product  specification 
established  pursuant  to  Article  73.  Member  States  may  charge  a  fee  to  cover  their 
costs of the verification of compliance. 

Operators who prepare and store a product marketed under the traditional speciality 
guaranteed  or  who  place  such  products  on  the  market  shall  also  be  subject  to  the 
controls and enforcement measures referred to in Article 73. 

Article 73 

Controls and enforcement 

1. 

 Controls of traditional specialities guaranteed include: 

(a) 

verification that a product designated by a traditional speciality guaranteed has 
been produced in conformity with the corresponding product specification; and 

(b)  monitoring  of  the  use  of  traditional  speciality  guaranteed in  the  marketplace, 

including on the internet. 

2. 

In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/625, Member States shall designate: 

(a) 

one  or  more  competent  authorities  responsible  for controls  of  traditional 
specialities guaranteed; and 

(b)  one or more enforcement authorities, which may be the same as the competent 
authorities referred to in point (a), responsible for the enforcement of rules on 
traditional specialities guaranteed.  

Tasks  referred  to  in  paragraph  (2),  point  (a), may  be  delegated  to  one  or  more 
product certification bodies in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/625. 

Member  States  shall  undertake  controls,  based  on  a  risk  analysis,  to  ensure 
compliance with  the requirements of this Chapter and, in  the event  of breach, shall 
apply appropriate penalties. 

When performing the controls and enforcement activities provided for in this Article, 
the  competent  authorities  and  product  certification  bodies  shall  comply  with  the 
respective requirements laid down in Regulation (EU) 2017/625. However, Title VI, 
Chapter  I  of  Regulation  (EU)  2017/625  shall  not  apply  to  controls of  traditional 
specialities guaranteed. 

In respect of traditional specialities guaranteed that designate products originating in 
a third country, the verification of compliance with the product specification before 
the placing on the market of the product shall be carried out by: 

(a) 

one or more of the public authorities designated by the third country; and/or 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

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7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

(b)  one or more product certification bodies. 

Member States shall make public the name and address of the competent authorities 
and  product  certification bodies  referred  to  in  paragraphs  2,  point  (a)  and  3 
respectively, and keep that information up-to-date. 

The  Commission  shall  make  public  the  name and  address of  the  competent 
authorities and product certification bodies referred to in paragraph 6 and update that 
information periodically. 

The Commission may establish a digital portal where the name and the address of the 
competent  authorities  and  product  certification  bodies  referred  to  in paragraphs  2, 
point (a), 3 and 6 are made public. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article  84 supplementing  this  Regulation  by  additional  rules  to  provide  for 
appropriate certification and accreditation procedures to apply in respect  of product 
certification bodies referred to in paragraphs 2 and 5. 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts,  without  applying  the  procedure 
referred  to  in Article  80(2),  defining  the  means  by  which  the  name  and  address  of 
competent authorities and product certification bodies referred to in this Article shall 
be made public. 

Chapter 2 
Optional quality terms 

Article 74 

Objective and scope 

1. 

A  scheme  for  optional  quality  terms  is  established  in  order  to  facilitate  the 
communication  within  the  internal  market  on the  value-adding  characteristics  or 
attributes of agricultural products by the producers thereof.  

2. 

This Chapter covers agricultural products. 

For  the  purposes  of  this  Chapter,  agricultural  products  means agricultural  products 
intended  for  human  consumption  listed  in  Annex  I  to  the  Treaty  and  other 
agricultural products and foodstuffs listed in Annex II to this Regulation. 

This Chapter shall not apply to spirit drinks, aromatised wines or grapevine products 
as  defined  in  Part  II  of  Annex  VII  to  Regulation  (EU)  No  1308/2013,  with  the 
exception of wine-vinegars. 

Article 75 

National rules 

1. 

2. 

Member  States  may  maintain  national  rules  on  optional  quality  terms  and  schemes 
which  are  not  covered  by  this  Regulation,  provided  that  such  rules  comply  with 
Union law. 

The  Commission  may  establish  a  digital  system  for  the  inclusion  of  the  terms  and 
schemes  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  with  a  view  to  fostering  knowledge  of  the 
products and schemes across the Union. The Commission may adopt implementing 
acts  laying  down  technical  details,  necessary  for  the  notification  of  the  optional 

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quality  terms.  Those  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the 
examination procedure referred to in Article 80(2). 

Article 76 

Optional quality terms 

1. 

Optional quality terms shall satisfy the following criteria: 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

1. 

1. 

(a) 

(b) 

they relate to  a  characteristic  of  one  or  more  categories  of  products,  or  to  a 
farming or processing attribute which applies in specific areas; 

their use adds value to the product as compared to products of a similar type; 
and 

(c) 

they have a Union dimension. 

Optional quality terms that  describe technical  product  qualities with  the  purpose of 
putting  into  effect  compulsory  marketing  standards  and  are  not  intended  to  inform 
consumers about those product qualities fall outside the scope of this Chapter. 

Optional  quality  terms  shall  exclude  optional  reserved  terms  which  support  and 
complement  specific  marketing  standards  determined  on  a  sectoral  or  product 
category basis. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article  84 supplementing  this  Regulation  by  detailed  rules  relating  to  the  criteria 
referred to in paragraph 1. 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  laying  down  rules related  to  forms, 
procedures  or  other  technical  details,  necessary  for  the  application  of  this  Chapter. 
Those  implementing  acts  shall  be  adopted  in  accordance  with  the  examination 
procedure referred to in Article 80(2). 

When  adopting  delegated  and  implementing  acts  in  accordance  with  paragraphs  4 
and 5, the Commission shall take account of any relevant international standards. 

Article 77 

Reservation of additional optional quality terms 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article  84 reserving  additional  optional  quality 
laying  down 
their conditions of use. 

terms  and 

Article 78 

Mountain product 

The  term  ‘mountain  product’  is  established  as  an  optional  quality  term.  This  term 
shall  only  be  used  to  describe  products  intended  for  human  consumption  listed  in 
Annex I to the Treaty in respect of which: 

(a) 

(b) 

both  the  raw  materials  and  the  feedstuffs  for  farm  animals  come  essentially 
from mountain areas; 

in the case of processed products, the processing also takes place in mountain 
areas. 

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2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

47 

For the purposes of this Article, mountain areas within the Union are those delimited 
pursuant  to  Article  32(2) of  Regulation  (EU)  No  1305/2013  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council47. For third-country products, mountain areas include 
areas officially designated as mountain areas by the third country or that meet criteria 
equivalent to those set out in that paragraph. 

In  duly  justified  cases,  the  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated 
acts in  accordance  with  Article  84 laying  down  derogations  from  the  conditions  of 
use referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, in particular the conditions under which 
raw materials  or feedstuffs are permitted to  come from  outside the mountain  areas, 
the  conditions  under  which  the  processing  of  products  is  permitted  to  take  place 
outside the mountain areas in a geographical area to be defined, and the definition of 
that geographical area. 

The  Commission  shall  be  empowered  to  adopt  delegated  acts in  accordance  with 
Article  84 concerning  the  establishment  of  the  methods  of  production,  and  other 
criteria  relevant  for  the  application  of  the  optional  quality  term  established  in 
paragraph 1 of this Article. 

Article 79 

Restrictions on use and monitoring 

An optional quality term may only be used to describe products that comply with the 
corresponding conditions of use. 

The  Commission  may  adopt  implementing  acts  laying  down  rules  for  the  use  of 
optional quality terms. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with 
the examination procedure referred to in Article 80(2). 

Member  States  shall  undertake  controls,  based  on  a  risk  analysis,  to  ensure 
compliance with  the requirements of this Chapter and, in  the event  of breach, shall 
apply appropriate administrative penalties. 

Chapter 3 
Procedural provisions  

Article 80 

Committee procedure 

The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  a  committee  called  the  Agricultural  Quality 
Committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation 
(EU) No 182/2011. 

Where  reference  is  made  to  this  paragraph,  Article  5  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 
182/2011 shall apply. 

Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on 
support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and 
repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 487). 

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Title IV 
Amendments to Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2017/1001 
and (EU) 2019/787 

Article 81 

Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 

Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 is amended as follows: 

(1)  in Article 93(1), point (b) is replaced by the following 

(b)  “geographical  indication”  means  a  name,  including  a  traditionally  used  name,  which 
identifies a product referred to in Article 92(1): 

(i)  whose  specific  quality,  reputation  or  other  characteristics  are  attributable  to  its 
geographical origin; 

(ii) as originating in a specific place, region or country; 

(iii) as having at least 85 % of the grapes used for its production originating exclusively from 
that geographical area; 

(iv) the production of which takes place in that geographical area; and 

(v)  which  is  obtained  from  vine  varieties  belonging  to  Vitis  vinifera  or  a  cross  between  the 
Vitis vinifera species and other species of the genus Vitis.’; 

(2) Article 94 is replaced by the following: 

‘Article 94 

Product specification 

1. The product specification shall enable interested parties to verify the relevant conditions of 
production  relating  to  the  designation  of  origin  or  geographical  indication.  The  product 
specification shall comprise: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

the name to be protected; 

the type of geographical indication, being a protected designation of origin or a 
protected geographical indication; 

a  description  of  the  wine  or  wines,  including  the  principal  analytical 
organoleptic characteristics; 

(d)  where applicable, the specific oenological practices used to make the wine or 

wines, as well as relevant restrictions on making them; 

(e) 

(f) 

(g) 

(h) 

the definition of the geographical area delimited with regard to the link referred 
to in point (h); 

the maximum yields per hectare; 

an  indication  of  the  wine  grape  variety  or  varieties the  wine  or  wines  are 
obtained from; 

the details on the link referred to in  Article  93(1), point (a)(i), or, as the case 
may be, point (b)(i): 

(i) 

as regards a protected designation of origin, the link between the quality 
or  characteristics  of  the  product  and  the  geographical  environment 

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referred to in Article 93(1), point (a)(i); the details concerning the human 
factors of that geographical environment may, where relevant, be limited 
to  a  description  of  the  soil,  plant  material  and  landscape  management, 
cultivation  practices  or  any  other  relevant  human  contribution  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  natural  factors  of  the  geographical  environment 
referred to in that point; 

(ii) 

as regards a protected geographical indication, the link between a specific 
quality,  the  reputation  or  other  characteristic  of  the  product,  and  the 
geographical origin referred to in Article 93(1), point (b)(i); 

(i) 

other  applicable  requirements  where  provided  for  by  Member  States  or  by  a 
recognised producer  group,  if  applicable,  having  regard  to  the  fact  that  such 
requirements  must  be  objective,  non-discriminatory  and  compatible  with 
national and Union law. 

2. The product specification may contain sustainability undertakings pursuant to  Article 12 of 
Regulation (EU) …/… of the European Parliament and of the Council [Regulation on GI’s]*. 

3.  Where  the  wine  or  wines  may  be  partially  de-alcoholised,  the  product  specification  shall 
also  contain  a  description  of  the  partially  de-alcoholised  wine  or  wines  in  accordance 
with paragraph  (2),  point  (c),  mutatis  mutandis,  and,  where  applicable,  the  specific 
oenological practices used to make the partially de-alcoholised wine or wines, as well as the 
relevant restrictions on making them. 

*  Regulation  (EU)  …/…  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  […][…]  (OJ  L 
[…, p….]).’; 

(3) Articles 95 to 99, Articles 101 to 106 and Article 107 are deleted. 

Article 82 

Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 

Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 is amended as follows: 

(1) in Article 151(1), the following point is inserted: 

‘(f) administration of geographical indications, notably the tasks conferred on it by means of 
Commission delegated acts adopted in accordance with Article […] of Regulation (EU) …/… 
of the European Parliament and of the Council[Regulation on GIs]* 

*  Regulation  (EU)  …/…  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  […][…]  (OJ  L 
[…, p….]).’. 

Article 83 

Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2019/787 

Regulation (EU) 2019/787 is amended as follows: 

(1) in Article 3, points 6 and 7 are deleted; 

(2) Articles 16 and 21 are deleted; 

(3) Article 23 is replaced by the following: 

‘Article 23 

Single document 

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The single document shall set out the following: 

(a)  the  main  points  of  the  product  specification,  including  the  name  to  be  protected,  the 
category to which the spirit drink belongs or the term ‘spirit drink’, the production method, a 
description of the  characteristics of the spirit drink, a concise definition  of the  geographical 
area, and, where appropriate, specific rules concerning packaging and labelling; 

(b) a description of the link between the spirit drink and its geographical origin as referred to 
in  Article  3,  point  (4),  including,  where  appropriate,  the  specific  elements  of  the  product 
description or production method justifying that link.’; 

(4) Articles 24 to 33 and Articles 35 to 40 are deleted. 

Title V 
Delegation of powers, transitional and final provisions 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Article 84 

Delegation of powers 

The  power  to  adopt  delegated  acts  is  conferred  on  the  Commission  subject  to  the 
conditions laid down in this Article. 

23(7), Article 

17(5), Article 

The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 12(4), Article 14(2), Article 
15(6), Article 
25(10), Article 
19(10), Article 
26(6), Article  28(3), Article  29(3), Article  34(3), Article  46(1), Article  46, Article 
47(1), Article 48(6), Article 48(7), Article 49(4),  Article 51(3), Article 55(5), Article 
56(2), Article  73(10),  Article  69(4),  Article  70(2), Article  58(3), Article  62(10), 
Article  67(3), Article  68(6), Article  76(4), Article  77(1), Article  78(3), Article 
78(4), shall  be  conferred  on  the  Commission  for  a  period  of  7 years  from  [date  of 
entry  into  force  of  this  Regulation]. The  Commission  shall  draw  up  a  report  in 
respect  of  the  delegation  of  power  not  later  than  9 months  before  the  end  of  the 
seven-year period. The  delegation of power shall  be tacitly extended for periods of 
an  identical  duration,  unless  the  European  Parliament  or  the  Council  opposes  such 
extension not later than 3 months before the end of each period. 

The delegation of power related to in the Articles referred to in paragraph 2 may be 
revoked  at  any  time  by  the  European  Parliament  or  by  the  Council.  A  decision  to 
revoke shall put an end to the delegation of power specified in that decision. It shall 
take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of 
the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity 
of any delegated acts already in force. 

Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by 
each  Member  State 
the 
in  accordance  with 
Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making. 

the  principles 

laid  down 

in 

As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to 
the European Parliament and to the Council. 

A delegated act adopted pursuant to the Articles referred to in paragraph 2 shall enter 
into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament 
or  by  the  Council  within  a  period  of  2 months  of  notification  of  that  act  to  the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  or  if,  before  the  expiry  of  that  period,  the 
European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they 

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will  not  object.  That  period  shall  be  extended  by  2 months  at  the  initiative  of  the 
European Parliament or of the Council. 

Article 85 

Transitional provision for the classification of geographical indications 

The classification, referred to in Article 6(1), of geographical indications registered or applied 
for before the date of entry into force of this Regulation shall be made in accordance with the 
table set out in Annex III. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

Article 86 

Transitional provisions for pending applications 

Rules applicable before the entry into force of this Regulation shall continue to apply 
to  applications  for  registration,  applications  for  approval  of  a  Union  amendment  to 
the  product  specification  and  requests  for  cancellation  of  geographical  indications 
received by the Commission before the date of entry into force of this Regulation.  

However,  Article 19 to  Article 22 shall apply to those applications and requests for 
which  the  publication  for  opposition  of  the  application  for  registration,  of  the 
application for approval of a Union amendment to the product specification or of the 
request  for  cancellation  of  a  geographical  indication  in  the  EU  Official  Journal 
takes place after [date of the entry into force of this regulation]. 

Rules applicable before the entry into force of this Regulation shall continue to apply 
to  applications  for  registration,  applications  for  approval  of  a  Union  amendment  to 
the  product  specification  and  requests  for  cancellation  of  traditional  specialities 
guaranteed  received  by  the  Commission  before  the  date  of  entry  into  force  of  this 
Regulation.  

However, Article  62 to  Article 65 shall apply to those applications  and requests for 
which  the  publication  for  opposition  of  the  application  for  registration,  of  the 
application  for  approval  of  a  Union  amendment  to  the  product  specification  or  of 
the request  of  cancellation  of  a  traditional  speciality  guaranteed  in  the  EU  Official 
Journal takes place after [date of the entry into force of this regulation].  

Article 87 

Continuity of the registers  

Each  designation  of  origin  and  geographical  indication  of  wine  and  of  agricultural 
products, and each geographical indication of spirit drinks, with all relevant data, and 
data  concerning  pending  applications  for  registration,  amendment  or  cancellation, 
shall  be 
entered 
entered automatically into the Union register of geographical indications.  

respective  geographical 

indications 

registers 

the 

in 

traditional  speciality  guaranteed  entered 

Each 
the  traditional  specialities 
guaranteed register, with all relevant data, and data concerning pending applications 
for  registration  amendment  or  cancellation,  on  the  day  before  the  entry  into 
application of this Regulation, shall be entered automatically into the Union register 
of traditional specialities guaranteed. 

in 

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Article 88 

Repeal 

Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 is repealed. 

References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Regulation. 

Article 89 

Entry into force 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the [...] 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, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 
[...] 

For the Council 
The President 
[...] 

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