Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

AddedRecital 31 a (new): (31a) The registered trademarks of geographical indications have an asset value which can be determined after a clear and objective analysis by an independent third party. Such a value may be included into the annual balance sheet of both producer groups and individual producers.

AddedRecital 32: (32) In order to ensure that they are impartial and effective, the competent authorities designated to perform the verification of the compliance with the product specification should meet a number of operational criteria. When designating authorities responsible for taking appropriate administrative and judicial steps to prevent or stop the unlawful use of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications, Member States should ensure that those authorities provide adequate guarantees of transparency, objectivity and impartiality, and that they have at their disposal the qualified staff and resources necessary to carry out their functions. Provisions on delegating some competences of performing specific control tasks to product certification bodies should be envisaged to facilitate the task of the control authorities and make the system more effective.

AddedRecital 35: (35) Enforcement of geographical indications in the marketplace is important to prevent fraudulent and deceptive practices and the effective combating of counterfeiting, thus ensuring that producers are properly rewarded for the added value of their products bearing a geographical indication and that illegal users of those geographical indications are prevented from selling their products. Controls should be carried out based on risk assessment or notifications from operators, and appropriate, effective and proportionate administrative and judicial steps should be taken to prevent or stop the use of names on products or services that fail to respect, or contravene, the protected geographical indications.

AddedRecital 37: (37) Taking into account that a product designated by the geographical indication produced in one Member State might be sold in another Member State, administrative assistance between Member States and with third countries should be ensured to allow effective controls and its practicalities should be laid down.

AddedRecital 39: (39) The procedures for registration, amendment and cancellation of geographical indications, including the scrutiny and the opposition procedure, should be carried out in the most efficient way. According to the Special Report drafted by the European Court of Auditors, since the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding in 2018 between the Commission and the EUIPO, there has been no improvement in the length of the procedures regarding, in particular, the analysis of applications for registration and amendments to product specifications of geographical indications. The Commission should remain responsible for registration, amendment and cancellation, due to a strong relation with the Common Agricultural Policy and to the expertise needed to ensure that specificities of wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products are adequately assessed.

AddedRecital 44: (44) The specific objective of the scheme for traditional specialities guaranteed is to help the producers of traditional products to communicate to consumers the value-adding attributes of their product. In order to avoid creating imbalances on the internal market or unfair conditions of competition, any producer, including a producer from a third country, should be able to use a registered name of a traditional speciality guaranteed, provided that the product concerned complies with the requirements of the relevant specification and the producer is covered by a system of controls.

AddedRecital 46: (46) To ensure that traditional specialities guaranteed comply with their specification and are consistent, producers organised into groups should themselves define the product in a specification. The option of registering a name as a traditional speciality guaranteed should be open to third country producers with a control system or equivalent.

AddedRecital 47: (47) To ensure transparency, the traditional specialities guaranteed should be entered in the single register provided for in this Regulation.

AddedRecital 48: (48) In order to avoid creating imbalances on the internal market or unfair conditions of competition, any producer, including a producer from a third country, should be able to use a registered name of a traditional speciality guaranteed, provided that the product concerned complies with the requirements of the relevant specification and the producer is covered by the system of controls. For traditional specialities guaranteed produced within the Union, the Union symbol should be indicated on the labelling and it should be possible to associate it with the indication ‘traditional speciality guaranteed’. The use of the names, the Union symbol and the indication should be regulated correspondingly to ensure a uniform approach across the internal market.

AddedRecital 50: (50) In order not to mislead consumers and to provide them with accurate information, registered traditional specialities guaranteed should be protected against any misuse, imitation or counterfeiting, including as regards products used as ingredients, or against any other practice liable to mislead consumers and which may distort the information provided to them. Pursuing the same objective, rules should be laid down for specific uses of traditional specialities guaranteed, notably as regards the use of terms that are generic in the Union, labelling which contains or comprises the denomination of a plant variety or animal breed and trade marks.

AddedRecital 53 a (new): (53а) Owing to the growing demand from producers of various products, including ones produced by individual farmers, which do not fall into any other categories but which bear the hallmarks of a quality scheme, and bearing in mind the weaker competitiveness of farmers who nevertheless wish to sell directly to final consumers, a new optional quality term ‘farmer’s product’ should be introduced with a view to providing consumers with information on a specific product characteristic. Member States should draw up criteria which a product are to satisfy in order to be able to use the optional quality term ‘farmer’s product’.

AddedRecital 56: (56) In order to supplement or amend certain non-essential elements of this Regulation, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of entrusting the EUIPO with the tasks related to the development of a Union alert system to fight against online counterfeiting of geographical indications, informing applicants about the availability of their geographical indication as a domain name, monitoring of the registration of domain names in the Union which would conflict with the names included in the Union register of geographical indications; establishing appropriate criteria for monitoring performance of the EUIPO in the execution of the tasks entrusted to it; establishing the restrictions and derogations with regard to the sourcing of feed in the case of a designation of origin; establishing restrictions and derogations with regard to the slaughtering of live animals or with regard to the sourcing of raw materials; laying down rules for determining the use of the denomination of a plant variety or of an animal breed; laying down rules which limit the information contained in the product specification for geographical indications and traditional specialities guaranteed; laying down further details of the eligibility criteria for traditional specialities guaranteed; laying down additional rules to provide for appropriate certification and accreditation procedures to appl…

AddedRecital 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.

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

AddedArticle 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;

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

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

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

AddedArticle 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;

AddedArticle 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;

AddedArticle 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;

AddedArticle 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;

AddedArticle 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;

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

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

AddedArticle 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:

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

AddedArticle 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;

AddedArticle 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;

AddedArticle 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;

AddedArticle 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;

AddedArticle 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;

AddedArticle 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

AddedArticle 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;

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

AddedArticle 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.

AddedArticle 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.

AddedArticle 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);

AddedArticle 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.

Change 2

RemovedArticle 9 – paragraph 7: 7. The Member State shall ensure that its decision, be it favourable or not, is made public. The Member State shall also ensure that the product specification on which its favourable decision is based is published, and shall provide electronic access to the product specification.

AddedArticle 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

RemovedArticle 12 – paragraph 1: 1. A producer group may agree on sustainability undertakings to be adhered to in the production of the product designated by a geographical indication. Such undertakings shall aim to apply a sustainability standard higher than mandated by Union or national law in terms of social, environmental, economic or animal health and welfare undertakings. Such undertakings shall be specific, shall take account of existing sustainable practices employed for products designated by geographical indications, and may refer to existing sustainability schemes.

AddedArticle 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.

RemovedArticle 12 – paragraph 2: 2. The sustainability undertakings referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be included in the product specification, unless those undertakings are included elsewhere, for instance in the sustainability report referred to in Article 12a.

AddedThe reference to "property boundaries" is not relevant.

AddedArticle 8 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 a (new): In the case of wines, a single applicant shall be the winemaker.

AddedArticle 8 – paragraph 4 a (new): 4a. This Regulation shall not discriminate against nor create barriers for applicants, particularly for producers in the Union and third countries that qualify as micro, small or medium-sized enterprises within the meaning of the Annex to Recommendation 2003/361/EC.

AddedArticle 9 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new): (ca) a study on the economic sustainability of the supply chain concerned.

AddedArticle 9 – paragraph 4: 4. As part of the scrutiny referred to in paragraph (3), the Member State shall conduct a national opposition procedure. The national opposition procedure shall ensure publication of the product specification provided for in Article 11 and provide for a period of at least 2 months from the date of publication within which any natural or legal person having a legitimate interest and established or resident on the territory of the Member State in which the product concerned originates may lodge an opposition to the application for registration with that Member State.

AddedThe submission to a national opposition procedure of documents other than the technical specifications, which is the only relevant document, is pointless.

AddedArticle 9 – paragraph 7: 7. The Member State shall ensure that its decision, be it favourable or not, is made public and that the applicant has an opportunity to lodge an appeal. The Member State shall also ensure that the product specification on which its favourable decision is based is published, and shall provide electronic access to the product specification.

AddedArticle 9 – paragraph 7 a (new): 7a. In the case of cross-border registration applications, the related national procedures, including the objection phase, shall be carried out in all Member States concerned

AddedArticle 12 – paragraph -1 (new): -1. For the purpose of this Article, a ‘sustainability undertaking’ refers to an undertaking which contributes to one or more social, environmental or economic objectives, including: / (a) climate change mitigation and adaptation, including energy efficiency and decrease water consumption; / (b) preservation and sustainable use of soil, landscapes and natural resources; / (c) improving soil fertility; / (d) preservation of biodiversity and plants varieties, and transition to a circular economy; / (e) transition to a circular economy; / (f) reduction of the use of pesticides; / (g) reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; / (h) reduction of the use of antimicrobials; / (i) improving animal health and welfare; / (j) securing viable income and improving resilience for producers of products benefiting from a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication; / (k) improving the quality and the economic value of products benefiting from a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication, and redistributing added value across the supply chain; / (l) contributing to the diversification of activities promoting the rural economy; / (m) promoting local agricultural production, and preserving the rural fabric and local development, including agricultural employment; / (n) attracting and sustaining young producers of products benefiting from a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication and new producers of product…

AddedArticle 12 – paragraph 1: 1. A producer group may agree on sustainability undertakings to be adhered to in the production of the product designated by a geographical indication. Such undertakings shall aim to apply a sustainability standard that goes beyond that required by Union or national law in terms of social, environmental, economic or animal health and welfare undertakings. Such undertakings shall be specific, shall take account of existing sustainable practices employed for products designated by geographical indications, may complement and contribute to producers’ broader agro-ecological strategies to combat climate change and may refer to existing sustainability schemes.

AddedArticle 12 – paragraph 2: 2. The sustainability undertakings agreed on in accordance with paragraph (1) of this Article shall be either included in the product specification or developed under separate initiatives.

Article 12 – paragraph 4: deleted

Change 3

RemovedArticle 12 a (new): Article 12a / Sustainability report / 1. By 1 January 2026, producer groups shall prepare a sustainability report comprising a description 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. / 2. The Commission may adopt implementing acts setting out the format and the online presentation of the report provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 53(2).

AddedArticle 12 – paragraph 5: deleted

AddedArticle 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).