GP.R /04/2010

Transcription

1 GP.R /04/2010 MINUTES MEETING OF THE ADVISORY GROUP SPIRIT DRINKS 3 March, 14:30-18:00 hrs European Commission Rue de la Loi 130, room L130B 1049 Brussels Chairman: Mr Bosco Torremocha 1. Adoption of the agenda and the report of the last meeting of the advisory group of 14/12/ 2009, drafted by the Chairman. The agenda and the report of the last meeting were adopted. 2. Geographical indications policy review: views of stakeholders on options to be considered in the impact assessment DG AGRI DDG3.H.2 gave a presentation on the state of play of DG AGRI s thinking about Quality Policy, as follows: - Place-of-farming labelling: this is not the same concept as origin labelling (the latter referring to the place of last transformation) and was thought to apply to agricultural products as listed in Annex I of the EC Treaty. Therefore, spirits are out of the scope. More work is being done on this aspect and the Commission will take on board the outcome of discussions on the issue at the European Parliament. - Optional reserved terms (e.g. mountain ): a specific impact assessment will be performed. - Certification schemes: further work is being done in collaboration with the Advisory Group Quality. - Geographical indications (GIs): an impact assessment was undertaken on this issue and the resulting options were published in The Commission is working on this basis and their preferred option at the moment would be to keep the status quo with some improvements for the sake of easing bilateral negotiations on the matter and 1 Rue Belliard 12, bte 5 B-1040 Bruxelles T F info@europeanspirits.org

2 ensuring consumer s understanding. Moreover, clarification of intellectual property rights, and particularly the relation between different brand names and GIs will be provided. Finally, the Commission will also prepare guidelines for the use of PDO and PGI in the labels of processed food. CEPS/CIAA reiterated that CEPS welcomed the clarification that non-annex I ECT products were not under the scope of the measures related to marketing standards and place-of-farming labelling. He stressed that the option of merging the three GIs registers (spirits, wine and agricultural products and foodstuffs) caused concern. As recently adopted Regulation 110/2008 lays down rules on GIs, CEPS would be worried that this legal framework is diluted. He asked for clarification about the options status quo with improvements and parallel GI protection in Member States and welcomed future joint work on the use of GIs in labels. DG AGRI DDG3.H.2 indicated that, when confirmed by the new Commissioner, a document describing the options with an analysis of the respective consistency would be published. The Advisory Group Spirit Drinks, and the Wine and Quality Groups would be consulted with a delay of one month or a month and a half to respond. She recalled that the EU GI legislation was in full compliance with TRIPS, following the WTO Panel in Regarding a GI protection system managed at national or regional level, Ms Rueda reported support from a minority of Member States. This option would allow less important GIs to be protected at these respective levels and would restrict the number of GIs to be used by the Commission in negotiations with third countries. The compliance of this option with the smooth functioning of the internal market is being assessed. She finally clarified that the guidelines on the use of GIs in labels were at a very early stage and stressed that the industry would be consulted. COPA-COGECA expressed her concerns about merging the three GI systems and maintaining their specificities. She referred to the Single CMO and the resulting difficulty to find the product s specificities. Regarding different levels of protection for GIs, she considered it as problematic in the framework of an EU system. She added that harmonization of PDO and PGI was not acceptable either at the highest or at the lowest protection level and suggested a promotion campaign instead. CEPS/CIAA stressed that Regulation 110/2008 lays down a 7-year delay for spirit GI holders to prepare the respective technical file for registration. Therefore, he felt that new legislative measures during this would not make sense as operators are still preparing these technical files which, undoubtedly, would result in reconsidering some GIs. The German representative agreed and welcomed that spirits, which are not agricultural products, are not required to disclose place-of-farming labelling. DG AGRI DDG3.H.2 pointed out that the Commission strategy didn t aim at reopening the debates in the wine and spirits sectors and their specificities would be maintained. Regarding a possible merger of PDO and PGI regimes, she indicated that the option s impact was being assessed and stressed that harmonization would be done at the lowest level i.e. TRIPS requirements. DG AGRI C.3 suggested that even though the merger of registers was not supported by stakeholders it would be useful to at least consider a single procedure. 2

3 CEPS/CIAA added that the registration requirements for spirits should be the same in all Member States and, therefore, he suggested that further procedure details on the basis of Regulation 110/2008 were developed in an implementation regulation. 3. AOB 3.1. Austria: The alleged usurpation of the geographical indication "Jägertee/Jagertee/Jagatee" by Italian companies is under discussion with Member States most involved Italy: - Request to clarify the use of by-products of the vinification process to produce "wine spirits" as defined in Annex II / 4 Regulation 110/2008. The Commission services pointed out that "wine spirits" need to be exclusively produced by the distillation of wine as defined in the regulation. - Concerning the application of the United Kingdom to register the geographical indication "Somerset Cider Brandy" the Italian delegation requested to include the obligation to indicate the category of the product, i.e. "cider spirit" on the label of the product Germany: - Request to clarify that the geographical indication "Tequila" is to be treated equally to geographical indications registered in Annex III of Regulaton 110/2008. The Commission services pointed out, that according to Article 29 (2) of the regulation, the protection of "Tequila" in the EU is guaranteed based on the bilateral agreement, which continues to apply. Therefore, a differentiation between geographical indications registered in Annex III and Third Country geographical indications is not appropriate 4. Application of Regulation (EC) 110/2008 including exchange of views on "compound terms" The Commission services reminded delegates that "compound terms" historically constitute the only legally accepted exemption to the principal of strict protection of sales denominations and geographical indications. The spirit drinks sector still lacking compulsory ingredient labelling relies on a clear sales denomination. The correct use of "compound terms" as a sales denomination consisting of a combination of a defined spirit drinks and any additional component has a long history of discussions in the spirit drinks sector. The legislator has deliberately chosen not to stipulate a definition for "compound term" in Regulation 110/2008. Guidelines on "compound terms" are strictly limited to the wording of Regulation 110/2008. Commission Guidelines do not contain interpretation or new elements. The sole aim is to ensure the uniform application of the Regulation according to Article 24(3) thereof. The Guidelines and examples given therein cannot be regarded as official interpretation of the legislation, this being the exclusive reserve of the Court of Justice of the European Communities. 3

4 "Compound terms" have always been used as a possibility to additionally inform consumers but on the other hand also constitute a potential means of misleading consumers. Being the only legal possibility to diverge from the strict application of the sales denomination, "compound terms" occupy and have always since 1989 occupied a considerable role in the discussion on labelling, presentation and discussion on spirit drinks. Delegates were reminded that on the occasion of the adoption by the Council of Regulation 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the following statement of the Commission and the Council on labelling for sweetening has been entered in the Minutes: "The Commission and Council agree on the need for the rules for labelling ingredients for spirit drinks as referred to in Directive 2000/13/EC to be adopted as soon as possible." Pending such ingredient listing, the discussion on "compound terms" risks to linger on. Concerning alcoholic strength below 15 % vol. alc., as outlined in the "Guidelines", the sales denomination of these products is not regulated by Regulation 110/2008. Although, as discussed, Art 10(2) is not directly applicable to this group of products this does not touch the extension of the scope of application of Regulation 110/2008 beyond the core spirit drinks sector, e.g. Art. 9(4), 9(7), 10(1). This as stated in the "Guidelines", being in line with the principle to prevent deceptive practices and to confront inappropriate consumption, goes beyond the scope of application of Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89 and includes drinks with a lower alcoholic content than 15 %. It is the responsibility of the industry to prove that consumers are not misled. Labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs is regulated by Directive 2000/13/EC which is in the competence of DG SANCO. The Commission services reminded participants that the European Court of Justice regularly emphasizes that certain values, e.g. consumer protection, prevail over the principle of the free movement of goods, taking into account local consumer perceptions. The Industry representative in an initial statement thanked the Commission for the possibility of a joint committee with the Committee for Spirit Drinks and highlighted the fact that on the entire Regulation 110/2008 solely the compound term issue raised some concerns of the sector. CEPS encouraged Member States to ensure uniformity in the application of the Regulation and highlighted it's interest not to constantly change labels due to legal insecurity. The vast majority of Member States regard the Guidelines as a useful basis for the application of Regulation 110/2008 on "compound terms". Yet, questions concerning the correct application of the regulation mainly in the context of liqueurs were raised. A number of Member States (ES, IT, LT, FI) expressed their preference for an application regulation to provide for a legally binding provision for the application of the Regulation. Some delegations (ES, LUX) requested a translation of the Guidelines. The Industry representatives in the discussion underlined the request for a uniform application of the Regulation in particular for liqueurs exclusively based on a spirit drink defined in Annex 2 of Regulation 110/2008 (e.g. Rum, Whisky ) to inform the consumer about the 4

5 nature of the product as opposed to liqueurs based on ethyl alcohol, solely containing a dram of such a spirit drink. As outlined in the Guidelines, the Commission services reminded industry on the need to label a sales denomination as defined in Annex 2 of the Regulation. When using compound term, it is the responsibility of the industry not to mislead the consumer. As consumer interests may diverge over the European Community, descriptive labelling entails increased need for proof by the industry that consumers are not mislead. Conclusion: The Commission services underlined the importance of a continued dialogue between industry and Member States and the Commission to achieve the common goals and ended the meeting encouraging Member States to continue to inform the Commission on the application of the Regulation. Disclaimer "The opinions expressed in this report represent the point of view of the meeting participants from agriculturally related NGOs at community level. These opinions cannot, under any circumstances, be attributed to the European Commission. Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of the here above information." 5