THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FRIULI REGION’S SOLUTION FOR THE “TOCAI” QUESTION: A NEW DECREE FOR THE NAME “FRIULANO” AWAITS RECOURSE IN EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE

A new decree has been made for the name “Friulano” in order to guarantee producers will be able have a name to put on their labels when the deadline for the use of the name “Tocai” expires on March 31, 2007. This is the solution that has been put forward by the Ministry of Agriculture and Friuli Venezia Giulia Region Counselor, Enzo Marsilio. “A new decree will be prepared” – explained Marsilio – “that will maintain the validity of the request in the European Court of Justice”.
The motivations behind this decree will be different in respect to those that were already refused by the Tar Court of Lazio and, continued Marsilio, will, “find justification in the fact that we are three months from the deadline for use of the name ‘Tocai’ and we cannot leave producers without a solution. We must also avoid economic damages and the fact that consumers will non longer understand the situation because there is no longer a name for this wine”.