Federdoc rejects the revision of GIs for wine: little ambition and lack of clarity

The proposed revision of the system of Geographical Indications (GI) for wine, spirits, and agricultural products, which has already received the “yes” from the European Commission, receives the first rejection, it is from Federdoc. According to which the reform is unambitious and lacks clarity. This proposal – explains Federdoc in a note - was announced as a simplification, but actually, the only simplification present there, is that for the benefit of the European Commission and not for producers. On the opposite, the proposal multiplies the institutional interlocutors for GI producers since, in addition to the European Commission, it will also involve Euipo in the future. We believe it is very dangerous - continues the Federdoc’s note - that the European Commission does not specify how the new GI system should function, and that it limits itself to providing wide delegated powers for the definition of a large part of the reform, thus depriving the European Parliament and the Member States of any power to influence the modification of the delegated acts of the Commission.
“The European Commission simply wants a blank proxy to decide the future of GI policy, without the contribution of the two co-legislators, which is not acceptable democratically,” comments Riccardo Ricci Curbastro, Federdoc president. “The risk is the weakening of the link between GIs and rural development policy, as if approved as such, the rules contained in the reform can jeopardize a system that since the 1970s has proven to be instrumental in the enhancement of appellations and the development of many European regions and territories ”, adds Riccardo Ricci Curbastro.
Furthermore, according to Federdoc, the delegation to Euipo of the Geographical Indications recognition would involve the management according to private criteria of what is really a collective heritage, with inevitable negative consequences for our sector, which would see the protection of our patrimony undermined to satisfy the simplification of Commission offices. The Prosek case has shown that there is a need for greater protection for GIs and this protection cannot be effectively managed by a non-institutional entity, such as the Euipo. The current GI rules are satisfying, as they already allow GI wine producers to ensure sustainability, protect GIs, internet domains, and goods in transit. In the Commission proposal, there is no clarity on how to further protect them, indeed some of the provisions included in the proposal seem to undermine what was agreed by the co-legislators in the CAP reform, which came into force on 7th December 2021.