Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

**Council of the**
**European Union**

**Interinstitutional File:**

**2018/0214(NLE)**

**LEGISLATIVE ACTS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS**

**Brussels, 14 March 2019**
**(OR. en)**

**6929/19**

**PI 49**

Subject: COUNCIL DECISION on the accession of the European Union to the
Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and
Geographical Indications

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**COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2019/…**

**of …**

**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 point (a) of Article 218(6) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament,

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Whereas:

(1) The Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International

Registration of 31 October 1958 ('the Lisbon Agreement') 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'). Under the terms of the Lisbon

Agreement, the contracting parties undertake to protect on their territories the appellations

of origin of products of the other countries within the Special Union which are recognised

and protected as such in the country of origin and which are registered at the International

Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), unless those parties

declare, within a period of one year from the receipt of the notification of such a

registration, that they cannot ensure such protection.

(2) Seven Member States are parties to the Lisbon Agreement, namely Bulgaria (since 1975),

the Czech Republic (since 1993), France (since 1966), Italy (since 1968), Hungary

(since 1967), Portugal (since 1966) and Slovakia (since 1993). Three other Member States

have signed, but not ratified the Lisbon Agreement, namely Greece, Spain and Romania.

The Union itself is not a party to the Lisbon Agreement as it provides that only countries

can accede to it.

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(3) On 20 May 2015, the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and

Geographical Indications ('the Geneva Act') was adopted which revised the Lisbon

Agreement. In particular, the Geneva Act expands the scope of the Special Union in order

to extend the protection of appellations of origin of products to all geographical indications

within the meaning of the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects

of Intellectual Property Rights. The Geneva Act is compatible with that agreement and

with relevant Union law on the protection of designations of origin and geographical

indications for agricultural products, and allows intergovernmental organisations to

become contracting parties to it.

(4) The Union has exclusive competence for the areas covered by the Geneva Act. This was

confirmed in the judgement of the Court of Justice of 25 October 2017 in Case C-389/15 **[1]**

which clarified that the draft revised Lisbon Agreement, which has been subsequently

adopted as the Geneva Act, is essentially intended to facilitate and govern trade between

the Union and the third States party to the Lisbon Agreement and has direct and immediate

effects on such trade. Therefore the negotiation of the Geneva Act fell within the exclusive

competence of the Union pursuant to point (e) of Article 3(1) TFEU as it was within the

field of the common commercial policy referred to in Article 207(1) TFEU, in particular

with regard to the commercial aspects of intellectual property.

**1** Judgment of the Court of Justice of 25 October 2017, Commission v Council, C-389/15,
ECLI:EU:C:2017:798.

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(5) Regarding certain agricultural products, the Union has established uniform and

comprehensive protection systems for geographical indications for wines (1970),

spirits (1989), aromatised wines (1991) and other agricultural products and foodstuffs

(1992). Based on the exclusive competence of the Union under Article 3 TFEU,

Member States should not have national protection systems to protect agricultural

designations of origin and geographical indications of third country members of the

Special Union. However, since the Union is not a contracting party to the Geneva Act, it

cannot submit agricultural designations of origin and geographical indications registered at

Union level for protection within the Special Union, nor can it protect third country

members' designations of origin and geographical indications by means of the protection

systems established by the Union in accordance with the Geneva Act.

(6) In order for the Union to be able to properly exercise its exclusive competence for the areas

covered by the Geneva Act and its functions in the context of its comprehensive protection

systems for agricultural designations of origin and geographical indications, the Union

should accede to the Geneva Act and become a contracting party thereto.

(7) The Union's accession to the Geneva Act is in accordance with Article 17(2) of the Charter

of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which provides for the protection of

intellectual property.

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(8) The Union should endeaveour to regularise the issue of its voting rights in the Assembly of

the Special Union of the Geneva Act in order to ensure its effective participation in the

decision-making procedures, in view of point (b)(ii) of Article 22(4) of the Geneva Act. It

is therefore appropriate that the Member States which wish to do so, should also be

authorised to ratify or to accede to, as appropriate, alongside the Union the Geneva Act in

the interest of the Union.

(9) At the same time, this will allow to ensure the continuity of rights resulting from the

existing membership of seven Member States in the Special Union.

(10) The ratification or accession by the Member States should however fully respect the

exclusive competence of the Union, and the Union should remain responsible for ensuring

the exercise of the rights and fulfilment of the obligations of the Union and the

Member States under the Geneva Act.

(11) In the Special Union, the Union and those Member States having ratified or acceded to the

Geneva Act are represented by the Commission in accordance with Article 17(1) of the

Treaty on European Union (TEU),

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

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_Article 1_

The accession of the European Union to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations

of Origin and Geographical Indications (‘the Geneva Act’) is hereby approved on behalf of the

Union.

The text of the Geneva Act is attached to this Decision.

_Article 2_

The President of the Council shall designate the person empowered to deposit, on behalf of the

Union, the instrument of accession provided for in point (ii) of Article 28(2) of the Geneva Act, in

order to express the consent of the Union to be bound by the Geneva Act, as well as to make the

declaration and notification attached to the instrument of accession provided for in Article 5 of this

Decision.

_Article 3_

Member States which wish to do so, are hereby authorised to ratify or accede to, as appropriate,

alongside the Union, the Geneva Act in the interest of the Union and in full respect of its exclusive

competence.

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_Article 4_

1. In the Special Union, the 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 Union shall be responsible for ensuring the

exercise of the rights and fulfillment of the obligations of the Union and of the

Member States which ratify or accede to the Geneva Act pursuant to Article 3 of this

Decision.

The Commission shall make all the necessary notifications under the Geneva Act on behalf

of the Union and those Member States.

In particular, the Commission shall be designated as the Competent Authority referred to in

Article 3 of the Geneva Act, responsible for the administration of the Geneva Act in the

territory of the Union and for communications with the International Bureau of the WIPO

under the Geneva Act and the Common Regulations under the Lisbon Agreement and the

Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement (the 'Common Regulations').

2. The Union shall vote in the Assembly of the Special Union and the Member States which

have ratified or acceded to the Geneva Act shall not exercise their right to vote.

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_Article 5_

In accordance with Article 29(4) of the Geneva Act, a declaration attached to the instrument of

accession shall specify an extension by one year of the time limit referred to in Article 15(1) of the

Geneva Act, and the periods referred to in Article 17 of the Geneva Act, in accordance with the

procedures specified in the Common Regulations.

In accordance with point (a) of Rule 5(3) of the Common Regulations, a notification to the Director

General of WIPO attached to the instrument of accession shall specify the requirement that, for the

protection of a registered appellation of origin or geographical indication in the territory of the

Union, the application shall, in addition to the mandatory contents set out in Rule 5(2) of the

Common Regulations, indicate particulars concerning, in the case of an appellation of origin, the

quality or characteristics of the good and its connection with the geographical environment of the

geographical area of production, and, in the case of a geographical indication, the quality, reputation

or other characteristic of the good and its connection with the geographical area of origin.

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_Article 6_

This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the

_Official Journal of the European Union._

Done at …,

_For the Council_

_The President_

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**ANNEX**

GENEVA ACT OF THE LISBON AGREEMENT

ON APPELLATIONS OF ORIGIN AND GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS

[…] **[1]**

**1** Delegations: see document ST 11510/18 ADD 1.

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