EU holding its ground in geographic indications battle

Food & Drink Weekly, Sept 8, 2003

Within the EU, 600 products already enjoy geographical protection. The European Commission maintains there is evidence that the 41 products on the list agreed by member states late Aug. 27 are actually being used outside the EU. "It's not just a wish list," European Commission spokesman Gregor Kreuzhuber told journalists. "These names are being abused outside the EU and we want to claw them back in order to protect them from further usurpation."

The EU argues that geographical indications boost the value of a product and therefore deserve protection. However, it maintains that consumers will only be willing to pay more for a product whose regional origins are guaranteed.

"Abuses in third countries undermine the reputation of EU products and create confusion for consumers," said EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy in a written statement. Said EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler: "This is not about protectionism. It is about fairness."

The EU's campaign for trade protection goes beyond the list. It also is calling for the establishment of a multi-lateral register of geographical indications as well as the extension of the protection foreseen for wine and spirits to other products. As a next step, the 10 countries set to join the Union in May 2004 are studying whether any of their regional product names should be included in a future list, Kreuzhuber said.

An alliance of dairy producers from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, New Zealand, and Uruguay issued a joint statement Aug. 15 warning that the push for expanded GI protection carries the risk of significant damage to producers, manufacturers and consumers around the world, for no obvious benefit in return. "Around three-quarters of production in major cheese-producing regions (the EU, United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Argentina and Switzerland) is of cheeses with a European-origin name," according to the position paper released by the Global Dairy Alliance. "All this cheese could potentially be the subject of a GI application in its original region." The group cited parmesan and mozzarella cheese as two examples where manufacturers of these products outside of Europe could be confronted with costly adjustments if the EU proposal goes ahead. Both cheeses are listed on the EU GI product list.