AREPO welcomes the Association Française des Indications Géographiques Industrielles et Artisanales (AFIGIA) as an associate member!
AREPO and AFIGIA have a long history of collaboration on the creation of an EU-wide protection system for industrial and artisanal geographical indications (GIs). Therefore, the two associations have decided to formalise their cooperation through a partnership agreement, with the aim of strengthening dialogue and interaction.
Driven by a vision of geographical indications as tools for rural development and territorial planning, AREPO believes that industrial and artisanal GIs could contribute to the growth and development of territories. The introduction of a system of protection at EU level would also benefit EU agricultural GIs in the framework of trade agreements with third countries, where non-agricultural GIs are of paramount importance, since most of them request their protection in exchange for the recognition of EU agri-food GIs.
