Changes from plenary report to adopted text

Recital 60 a (new): (60а) In the case of products for which a Union protection procedure, such as ‘protected designation of origin’, ‘protected geographical indication’ or ‘traditional-specific food’ in accordance with the rules and requirements of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs has been initiated before the date of entry into force of this Regulation, applicants for protection should be entitled to continue and complete the procedure which they have started.

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: This Regulation lays down the rules on the following quality schemes:

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) protected designations of origin (PDOs) and protected geographical indications (PGIs) for wine, agricultural products and foodstuffs, and geographical indications for spirit drinks;

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) traditional specialities guaranteed (TSGs); and

Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new): (ba) optional quality terms for agricultural products.

Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point -a (new): (-a) ‘quality schemes’ means the schemes established under Titles II, III and IV;

Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) 'producer group’ means any association, irrespective of its legal form, composed of producers of raw material, processors or operators involved in the production of the same product;

Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) ‘traditional’ and ‘tradition’, associated with a product, means proven historical usage of the name by producers in a community for a period that allows transmission between generations; that period is to be at least 30 years and such usage may embrace modifications necessitated by changing hygiene, safety and other relevant practices, such as those related to sustainability, animal health and welfare;

Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point d: (d) ‘production step’ means any stage of supply, production, processing, preparation or ageing, performed up to the point where the product meets all the requirements needed to be placed on the internal market;

Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point f: (f) ‘product certification bodies’ means delegated bodies within the meaning of Title II, Chapter III, of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 which certify that products designated by geographical indications or traditional specialities guaranteed comply with the product specification;

Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point g – introductory part: (g) ‘generic term’ means the name of products which, although relating to the place, region or country where a product was originally produced or marketed, have become the common name of a product in the Union;

Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point g – point i: deleted

Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point g – point ii: deleted

Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part: 1. This Title provides for a unitary and exclusive system of geographical indications, protecting the names of wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products having characteristics, attributes or reputation linked to their place of production, thereby:

Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point -a (new): (-a) helping producers obtain a fair return for the quality of their products;

Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point -a a (new): (-aa) contributing to the achievement of rural development policy objectives by providing support to agricultural and processing activities and the farming systems associated with high-quality products;

Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) ensuring that producers acting collectively have the necessary powers and responsibilities to manage their geographical indication, including to create value and to respond to societal demands for products resulting from sustainable production in its three dimensions of economic, environmental and social value, animal health and welfare, and to operate in the Union internal market and on international markets;

Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b: (b) ensuring fair competition for farmers and producers of agricultural products and foodstuffs, in order to generate added value in the marketing chain;

Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new): (ba) contributing to the aim of sharing that added value across the supply chain, in order to ensure producers’ capacity to invest in the quality, reputation and sustainability of their products;

Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point c: (c) ensuring that consumers receive reliable information and a guarantee of authenticity and traceability of the quality, reputation and other characteristics linked to the place of production of such products and can readily identify them in the marketplace including in the domain name system and in electronic commerce;

Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point d: (d) ensuring the simple, efficient and user-friendly registration of geographical indications taking into account the uniform, appropriate and effective protection of intellectual property rights in the internal market including digital markets across the Union; and

Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point e: (e) ensuring effective controls, enforcement, use and marketing throughout the Union and in the domain name system and in electronic commerce, thereby ensuring the integrity of the internal market;

Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point e a (new): (ea) preserving know-how, and promoting and supporting local and regional products;

Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point e b (new): (eb) ensuring the effective protection of intellectual property rights of producers of such products in third country markets in compliance with international agreements, standards, best practices and agreements with third countries.

Article 6 – paragraph 1: 1. Products designated by geographical indications shall be classified according to the combined nomenclature at two, four, six or eight-digit level. Additional codes established pursuant to Articles 3 and 5 of Regulation (EEC) No 2658/1987 may be added to the combined nomenclature by the Commission, upon the request of a Member State. Where a geographical indication covers products of more than one category, each entry shall be specified. Product classification shall only be used for registration, statistical and record keeping purposes. The said classification shall not be used to determine comparable products for the purposes of protection against direct and indirect commercial use referred to in Article 27(1), point (a) of this Regulation.

Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point f: (f) ‘recognised producer group’ means a formal association of producers recognised by the competent national authorities as the sole group to represent and act on behalf of all producers, and fulfilling the requirements laid down in Article 33(1) and (2);

Article 8 – paragraph 1: 1. Applications for the registration of geographical indications may only be submitted by a producer group of a product ('applicant producer group'), the name of which is proposed for registration. Other interested parties, including specialist organisations, non-governmental organisations or public bodies may provide technical advice and help in the preparation of the application and in the related procedure.

Article 8 – paragraph 2: 2. An authority designated by a Member State or by a third country may be deemed to be an applicant producer group for the purposes of this Title, with respect to geographical indications of a spirit drink, if it is not feasible for the producers concerned to form a group by reason of their number, geographical location or organisational characteristics. In such case, the application referred to in Article 9(2) shall state those reasons.

Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point a: (a) the person concerned is the only producer of that product at the time of the application for the registration of a geographical indication; and

Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b: (b) the geographical area is defined by a natural environment and has characteristics which differ appreciably from those of neighbouring areas or the characteristics of the product are different from those produced in neighbouring areas or, in the case of spirit drinks, where the spirit drink has a special quality, reputation or other characteristic which is clearly attributable to its geographical origin.

Article 12 – paragraph 4: deleted

Article 12 – paragraph 5: deleted

Article 12 a (new): Article 12a / Sustainability report / 1. Producer groups may prepare a sustainability report based on internal audit activities, comprising a description of existing sustainable practices implemented in the production of the product, of the impacts of the method of obtaining the product on sustainability, in terms of social, environmental, economic or animal health and welfare commitments, and information necessary to understand how sustainability affects the development, performance and position of the product. / The sustainability report may be updated to take account in particular of progress compared with the outcome of previous internal audit activities. / 2. The Commission may adopt implementing acts setting out a harmonised format and the online presentation of the report provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, contributing to the aim of sharing and replicating sustainable practices, also including through advisory services and the development of a network for the exchange of such practices. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 53(2).

Article 14 – paragraph 2: 2. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 84 supplementing this Regulation by provisions clarifying the requirements of the accompanying documentation to be supplied.

Article 15 – paragraph 1 – point -a (new): (-a) the product specification referred to in Article 11;

Article 15 – paragraph 6: deleted

Article 16 – paragraph 1: 1. A Union application for the registration of a geographical indication shall be submitted to the Commission electronically, through a digital system. The digital system shall have the capacity to allow the submission of applications to competent authorities of a Member State, and may be used by the Member State in its national procedure.

Article 17 – title: Examination by the Commission and publication for opposition

Article 17 – paragraph 1: 1. The Commission shall examine any application for registration that it receives pursuant to Article 16(1). The Commission shall verify that there are no manifest errors, that the information provided in accordance with Article 15 is complete and that the single document referred to in Article 13 is precise. The Commission shall take into account the outcome of the national procedure carried out by the Member State concerned.

Article 17 – paragraph 3: 3. Within three months following the submission of the application for registration, the Commission may seek supplementary information from the competent authority or from the applicant.

Article 17 – paragraph 4: 4. Where, based on the examination carried out pursuant to paragraph 1, the Commission considers that the conditions laid down in this Regulation and in Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013 and (EU) 2019/787, as appropriate, are fulfilled, it shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union the single document and the reference to the publication of the product specification.

Article 17 – paragraph 5: deleted

Article 18 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall immediately inform the Commission of any national administrative or judicial proceedings that may affect the registration of a geographical indication.

Article 18 – paragraph 2 – introductory part: 2. The Commission shall be exempted from the obligation to meet the deadline to perform the examination referred to in Article 17(2) where it receives a communication from a Member State, concerning an application for registration in accordance with Article 9(6), which:

Article 18 – paragraph 2 – point b: (b) requests the Commission to suspend the examination because national administrative or judicial proceedings have been initiated to challenge the validity of the application and the Member State considers that those proceedings are based on valid grounds. / The Commission shall inform the applicant of the reasons for the delay.