Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION amending Council Decision (EU) 2019/1754 on the accession of the European Union to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications
Date: 2023-02-06
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: World Intellectual Property Organisation, accession to an agreement, consumer information, designation of origin, intellectual property, labelling, product designation

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 6.2.2023  COM(2023) 54 final 2023/0022 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION amending Council Decision (EU) 2019/1754 on the accession of the European Union to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

The  Lisbon  Agreement  of  1958  for  the  Protection  of  Appellations  of  Origin  and  their 
International Registration created a special union (‘the Special Union’) within the framework 
of  the  Union  for  the  Protection  of  Industrial  Property  which  was  established  by  the 
Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property signed in Paris on 20 March 1883 (‘the 
Paris  Convention’).  Its  contracting  parties  are  obliged  to  protect  on  their  territories  the 
appellations of origin of products of the other contracting parties recognised and protected as 
such in the country of origin and registered at the International Bureau of WIPO, unless they 
declare within 1 year from the request for registration that they cannot ensure protection.  

indications  (GIs);  and  (iii) 

The Lisbon Agreement was reviewed from 2009 to 2015. The aim was to (i) refine its current 
framework;  (ii)  include  provisions  that  specify  that  the  Lisbon  system  also  applies  to 
the  possibility  of  accession  by 
geographical 
intergovernmental  organisations  such  as  the  EU.  The  WIPO  Diplomatic  Conference  held  in 
Geneva  from  11  to  21  May  2015.  The  conference  adopted  the  Geneva  Act  of  the  Lisbon 
Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications (hereinafter ‘the Geneva 
Act’) on 20 May 2015. 

include 

On 27 July 2018, the Commission made a proposal for a Council Decision on the accession of 
the  European  Union  to  the  Geneva  Act  (document  COM(2018)  350  final),  on  the  basis  of 
Article 207  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  (TFEU)  and 
Article 218(6)(a)  TFEU.  In  view  of  the  European  Union’s  exclusive  competence  as  regards 
the  negotiation  of  that  act,  that  proposal  provided  that  the  European  Union  alone  would 
accede thereto. 

On 15 March 2019, the Council sent the European Parliament a draft Council decision on the 
accession  of  the  European  Union  to  the  Geneva  Act,  authorising  all  Member  States  which 
wished to  do so  to  accede to  that act alongside  the European  Union. On 16 April 2019, the 
Parliament approved the draft decision. 

Since the Commission did not support that draft, the Council unanimously adopted Decision 
(EU) 2019/1754 on 7 October 2019, in accordance with Article 293(1) TFEU. 

Article 3 of Decision (EU) 2019/1754 provides: 

‘Member  States  which  wish  to  do  so,  are  hereby  authorised  to  ratify  or  accede  to,  as 
appropriate, alongside the [European] Union, the Geneva Act in the interest of the [European] 
Union and in full respect of its exclusive competence.’ 

Article 4(1) of the same decision provides: 

‘In the Special Union, the [European] Union and any Member States which ratifies or accedes 
to  the  Geneva  Act  pursuant  to  Article 3  of  this  Decision  shall  be  represented  by  the 
Commission  in  accordance  with  Article 17(1)  TEU.  The  [European]  Union  shall  be 
responsible  for  ensuring  the  exercise  of  the  rights  and  fulfilment  of  the  obligations  of  the 
[European]  Union  and  of  the  Member  States  which  ratify  or  accede  to  the  Geneva  Act 
pursuant to Article 3 of this Decision. ’ 

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In  a  statement  entered  in  the  Council  minutes  relating  to  the  adoption  of  that  decision,  the 
Commission,  on  the  one  hand,  objected  to  the  possibility  for  all  EU  Member  States  which 
wish to do so to be authorised to ratify or accede to the Geneva Act alongside the European 
Union,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  stated  that  it  would  have  been  ready  to  agree  that  the  seven 
Member  States  which  had  been  parties  to  the  Lisbon  Agreement  for  a  long  time  and  had 
extensive  intellectual  property  rights  registered  under  that  agreement  could  have  been 
authorised to accede to the Geneva Act in the interest of the European Union. 

The  European  Union  deposited  its  instrument  of  accession  to  the  Geneva  Act  on 
26 November 2019, bringing the number of members to the requisite five for entry into force. 
The Geneva Act entered into force three months later on 26 February 2020. 

On 17 January 2020, the Commission brought an action under Article 263 TFEU seeking the 
partial  annulment  of  Decision  (EU)  2019/1754. The  Commission  challenged  the  Council 
Decision  before  the  Court  of  Justice  on  the  main  grounds  that  the  Council  had  violated  the 
principle  of  conferral  of  powers  and  the  Commission’s  right  of  initiative.  While  the 
Commission  asked  the  Court  of  Justice  to  annul  Decision  (EU)  2019/1754  in  so  far  that  it 
authorises all Member States to accede to the Geneva Act, it also asked the Court to maintain 
the  effects  of  the  decision  for  the  seven  Member  States  that  are  already  members  of  the 
Lisbon  Agreement.  Those  Member  States  would  otherwise  lose  the  priority  rights  linked  to 
the Appellations of Origin already registered in their names under the Lisbon Agreement. 

The  Court  of  Justice  delivered  its  judgment  on  22  November  2022.  The  Court  essentially 
followed  the  arguments  put  forward  by  the  Commission  and  the  opinion  of  the  Advocate 
General of 19 May 2022. The Court notably acknowledged in the findings on substance that 
preservation  of  the  seniority  and  continuity  of  the  protection  of  appellations  of  origin 
registered under the Lisbon Agreement in the seven Member States which are already parties 
to  that  agreement  is  necessary,  in  particular,  in  accordance  with  the  principle  of  sincere 
cooperation between the European Union and the Member States set out in Article 4(3) TEU, 
in order to protect acquired rights derived from those national registrations. 

The  Court  annulled  Article 3,  and  to  the  extent  that  it  contains  references  to  the  Member 
States,  Article 4  of  Decision  (EU)  2019/1754  of  7 October  2019  on  the  accession  of  the 
European Union to the Geneva Act. 

The Court declared that the effects of the parts of Decision (EU) 2019/1754 which have been 
annulled are to be maintained only in so far as they relate to Member States which, on the date 
of  delivery  of  the  judgment,  have  already  availed  themselves  of  the  authorisation  under 
Article 3  of  that  decision  to  ratify  or  accede  to  the  Geneva  Act,  alongside  the  European 
Union,  until  the  entry  into  force,  within  a  reasonable  period  which  should  not  exceed  six 
months from that date, of a new decision of the Council. 

Therefore,  it  is  necessary  to  adopt  within  six  months  amendments  to  Decision  (EU) 
2019/1754 so that the Member States that are members of the Lisbon Agreement can also be 
members of the Geneva Act, to ensure that they can preserve the priority rights linked to the 
Appellations of Origin already registered in their names under the Lisbon Agreement. 

The present proposal sets out these suggested amendments. 

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• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

Regarding agricultural products, the EU has established uniform and exhaustive GI protection 
systems  for  wines  (1970),  spirits  (1989),  aromatised  wines  (1991)  and  other  agricultural 
products  and  foodstuffs  (1992).  Through  these  systems,  protected  names  for  the  products 
covered  enjoy  far-reaching  protection  throughout  the  EU,  based  on  a  single  application 
process.  The  key  provisions  are  currently  laid  down  for  wine  in  Regulation  (EU)  No. 
1308/2013 of 17 December 2013, for spirits in Regulation (EU) 2019/787 of 17 April 2019, 
and  for  agricultural  products  and  foodstuffs  and  aromatised  wines  in  Regulation  (EU)  No 
1151/2012 of 21 November 2012. 

• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

The proposal is consistent with the EU's general policy to promote and enhance the protection 
of geographical indications through bilateral, regional and multilateral agreements. 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

Considering  the  subject  matter  of  the  Treaty,  the  Council  Decision  should  be  based  on 
Articles 207 and 218(6)(a)(v) TFEU. 

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

According to Article 5(3) of the Treaty on European Union, the subsidiarity principle does not 
apply to areas of exclusive EU competence.  

• 

Proportionality 

The  suggested  amendments  are  necessary  to  preserve  the  seniority  and  continuity  of  the 
protection  of  appellations  of  origin  registered  under  the  Lisbon  Agreement  in  the  seven 
Member States which are already parties to that agreement, in accordance with the principle 
of  sincere  cooperation  between  the  European  Union  and  the  Member  States  set  out  in 
Article 4(3) TEU, in order to protect acquired rights derived from those national registrations. 

• 

Choice of the instrument 

A Council Decision amending Decision (EU) 2019/1754 is the appropriate legal instrument, 
having regard to Article 28 (Becoming Party to This Act) of the Geneva Act. Considering the 
subject matter of the Treaty, the amending Council Decision should be based on Articles 207 
and 218(6) TFEU. 

3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

Not applicable. 

• 

Stakeholder consultations 

The Roadmap on EU accession to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations 
of Origin and Geographical Indications was published on 21 December 2017 with a deadline 
for stakeholder comments until 18 January 2018. 8 comments were received. 

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• 

Collection and use of expertise 

Not applicable. 

• 

Impact assessment 

The Guidelines on Better Regulation clarify that an impact assessment should be carried out 
only  when  it  is  useful,  to  be  assessed  on  a  case-by-case  basis.  In  principle,  no  impact 
assessment is needed, when there is little or no choice available for the Commission. This is 
the  case  here,  as  the  Court  judgment  of  22  November  2022  requires  expeditious  action  to 
adopt  a  Council  Decision  amending  Council  Decision  (EU)  2019/1754  that  safeguards  the 
rights of the Member States concerned.  

• 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

Not applicable. 

• 

Fundamental rights 

The  Union's  accession  to  the  Geneva  Act  of  the  Lisbon  Agreement  will  contribute  to  the 
fulfilment  of  Article  17  (2)  of  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  European  Union, 
which provides that intellectual property shall be protected.  

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

Not applicable. 

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

Not applicable. 

• 

Explanatory documents (for directives) 

Not applicable. 

• 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

Not applicable. 

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2023/0022 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

amending Council Decision (EU) 2019/1754 on the accession of the European Union to 
the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical 
Indications 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 207 in conjunction with Article 218(6), point (a) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament,  

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

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The  Lisbon  Agreement  for  the  Protection  of  Appellations  of  Origin  and  their 
International  Registration  of  31  October  1958  (‘the  Lisbon  Agreement’)  is  a  treaty 
administered  by  the  World  Intellectual  Property  Organization  (‘WIPO’).  The  Lisbon 
Agreement creates a special union (‘the Special Union’) within the framework of the 
Union  for  the  Protection  of  Industrial  Property.  It  is  open  to  parties  to  the  Paris 
Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. Its contracting parties are obliged 
to  protect  on  their  territories  the  appellations  of  origin  of  products  of  the  other 
contracting  parties  recognised  and  protected  as  such  in  the  country  of  origin  and 
registered  at  the  International  Bureau  of  WIPO,  unless  they  declare  within  one  year 
from the request for registration that they cannot ensure protection.  

Seven Member States are parties to the Lisbon Agreement, namely Bulgaria, Czechia, 
France,  Italy,  Hungary,  Portugal  and Slovakia.  The Union itself is  not  a party to the 
Lisbon Agreement as only countries can accede to that Agreement. 

Following  a  review  of  the  Lisbon  Agreement,  the  WIPO  Diplomatic  Conference 
adopted  the  Geneva  Act  of  the  Lisbon  Agreement  on  Appellations  of  Origin  and 
Geographical  Indications  (‘the  Geneva  Act’)  on  20  May  2015.  The  Geneva  Act 
extends  the  protection  of  appellations  of  origin  to  all  geographical  indications  and 
allows intergovernmental organisations to become contracting parties to it. 
By its judgment of 25 October 20171, the Court held that the negotiation of the Geneva 
Act  fell  within  the  exclusive  competence  conferred  on  the  European  Union  by 
Article 3(1)  TFEU  in  the  field  of  the  common  commercial  policy  referred  to  in 
Article 207(1) TFEU.  

On  27  July  2018,  the  Commission  made  a  proposal  for  a  Council  Decision  on  the 
accession of the European Union to the Geneva Act2 on the basis of Articles 207 and  
218(6), point (a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). In 

Judgement  of  the  Court  of  Justice  of  25  October  2017,  Commission v Council  (Revised  Lisbon 
Agreement), C-389/15, EU:C:2017:798. 
COM(2018) 350 final 

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(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

view of the Union’s exclusive competence as regards the negotiation of that act, that 
proposal provided that the Union alone would accede thereto. 
On 7 October 2019, the Council  unanimously adopted Decision (EU) 2019/17543 on 
the  accession  of  the  European  Union  to  the  Geneva  Act  in  accordance  with 
Article 293(1)  TFEU.  Article  3  of  that  Decision  provides  that  Member  States  which 
wish to do so are authorised to ratify or accede to the Geneva Act alongside the Union. 
Article  4  of  the  Decision  provides  that,  in  the  Special  Union,  the  Union  and  any 
Member  State  which  ratifies  or  accedes  to  the  Geneva  Act  is  represented  by  the 
Commission  in  accordance  with  Article  17(1)  of  the  Treaty  of  the  Union  (TEU). 
Article 4 further provides that the Union is responsible for ensuring the exercise of the 
rights and fulfilment of the obligations of the Union and of the Member States which 
ratify or accede to the Geneva Act. 

In a statement entered in the Council minutes relating to the adoption of Decision (EU) 
2019/1754,  the  Commission  objected  to  the  possibility  for  all  Member  States  to  be 
authorised  to  ratify  or  accede  to  the  Geneva  Act  alongside  the  Union.  However,  the 
Commission also stated that it would have been ready to agree that the seven Member 
States  which  are  parties  to  the  Lisbon  Agreement  and  which  have  extensive 
intellectual  property  rights  registered  under  that  agreement  could  be  authorised  to 
accede to the Geneva Act in the interest of the Union.  

The Geneva Act entered into force on 26 February 2020, three months after the Union 
deposited its instrument of accession, bringing the number of members to the requisite 
five.  

On  17  January  2020,  the  Commission  brought  an  action  under  Article  263  TFEU 
seeking  the  partial  annulment  of  Decision  (EU)  2019/1754.  The  Commission 
challenged  that  Decision  before  the  European  Court  of  Justice  on  the  main  grounds 
that  the  Council  had  violated  the  principle  of  conferral  of  powers  and  the 
Commission’s  right  of  initiative,  and  in  the  alternative  on  the  grounds  of  an 
infringement of Article 2(1) and Article 207 TFEU and the duty to state reasons.  

(10)  While the Commission asked the Court of Justice to annul Decision (EU) 2019/1754, 
in so far that it authorises all Member States to accede to the Geneva Act, it also asked 
the Court to maintain the effects of the decision for the seven Member States that are 
already members of the Lisbon Agreement. It would be contrary to the interest of the 
Union  if  the  priority  rights  linked  to  the  appellations  of  origin  already  registered  by  
these Member States under the Lisbon Agreement were lost. 

(11)  The  Court  of  Justice  delivered  its  judgment  on  22  November  20224.  The  Court 
annulled Article 3, and to the extent that it contains references to the Member States, 
Article 4 of Decision (EU) 2019/1754. 

(12)  However,  the  Court  judgement  also  acknowledges  the  necessity  to  preserve  the 
seniority and continuity of the protection of appellations of origin registered under the 
Lisbon  Agreement  in  the  seven  Member  States  that  are  already  parties  to  that 
agreement. The Court thus declared that the effects of the annulled parts of Decision 
2019/1754  should  be  maintained  for  the  Member  States  which  have  already  availed 
themselves  of  the  authorisation  to  ratify  or  accede  to  the  Geneva  Act  until  the  entry 

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Council Decision 2019/1754 of 7 October 2019 on the accession of the European Union to the Geneva 
Act (OJ L 271, 24.10. 2019, p. 12). 
Judgment of the Court of Justice of 22 November 2022, Commission v. Council, C-24/20,  

4 
  ECLI:EU:C:2022:911. 

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into  force,  within  a  reasonable  period  not  exceeding  six  months,  of  a  new  Council 
Decision. 

(13) 

In  view  of  the  Union’s  exclusive  competence  and  the  possibility  for  the  Union  to 
accede to the Geneva Act, it is only in strictly justified and exceptional circumstances 
that  Member  States  can  be  authorised,  for  as  long  as  such  participation  is  duly 
justified,  in  the  interest  of  the  Union,  to  accede,  alongside  the  Union,  and  such 
accession has to remain functionally limited. 

(14)  Article  11  of  Regulation  (EU)  2019/17535  provides  for  transitional  provisions  for 
appellations  of  origin  originating  in  Member  States  already  registered  under  the 
Lisbon Agreement. On the basis of those provisions, the seven Member States that are 
parties to the Lisbon Agreement notified the Commission by 14 November 2022 their 
choice to request the international registration under the Geneva Act of appellations of 
origin already registered under the Lisbon Agreement. 

(15)  Therefore, it is appropriate to amend Decision (EU) 2019/1754 in order to authorise, 
in full respect of the exclusive competence of the Union, the seven Member States that 
are members of the Lisbon Agreement prior to the Geneva Act to also ratify or accede 
to the Geneva Act, to the strict extent that this is necessary to preserve, in the interest 
of the Union, the priority rights linked to the appellations of origin already registered 
by these Member States under the Lisbon Agreement. 

(16)  Decision (EU) 2019/1754 should therefore be amended accordingly, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

Amendments to Council Decision (EU) 2019/1754 

Decision (EU) 2019/1754 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

Article 3 is replaced by the following: 

‘Member  States  which  were  parties  to  the  Lisbon  Agreement  on  26  February  20206 
are hereby authorised, in full respect of the Union’s exclusive competence, to ratify or 
accede, alongside the Union, to the Geneva Act, to the strict extent that this accession 
is necessary to preserve, in the interest of the Union, the priority rights linked to the 
appellations of origin already previously registered by these Member States under the 
Lisbon Agreement and  to comply  with  the obligations  provided for by  Article 11 of 
Regulation (EU) 2019/1753.’; 

(2) 

in Article 4(1), the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

 ‘In  the  Special  Union,  the  Union  and  those  Member  States  which  have  ratified  or 
acceded to the Geneva Act pursuant to Article 3 of this Decision shall be represented 
by  the  Commission  in  accordance  with  Article  17(1)  TEU.  The  Union  shall  be 

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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). 
Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Italy, Hungary, Portugal and Slovakia. 

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responsible for ensuring the exercise of the rights and fulfilment of the obligations of 
the Union pursuant to Article 3 of this Decision.’. 

Article 2 

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

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

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