The Organisation for an International Geographical Indications Network (oriGIn) and the Association of European Regions for Products of Origin (AREPO) held their respective General Assemblies in Bordeaux with the presence of Mr. Stéphane Le Foll, French Minister of Agriculture. Both organizations are pleased with the results obtained by geographical indications in 2012 and early 2013 in the European Union (EU) and would like to congratulate the European institutions.
“Both the recently adopted Milk Package and Quality Package contain modern and effective rules for the sector. In that sense, in view of the critical issues to be discussed in the second part of 2013, such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the single CMO negotiations, the reform of the Community trade mark, customs enforcement of intellectual property rights and the new of agricultural products promotion policy, oriGIn and AREPO encourage the European institutions to continue the excellent work done so far”, stated Ramón González Figueroa, President of oriGIn and General Director of Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT).
The issues to be discussed in Brussels in the second half of 2013 remain strategic for the sector of geographical indications. “In this regard, we expect concrete results for the sector with respect to the option of managing production volumes for all geographical indications, the implementation of effective measures within the framework of rural development programs, the establishment of a new promotion policy for agricultural products which would give geographical indications the means to deploy their full potential, and the possibility to seize counterfeited geographical indications in transit in the EU”, concluded Tiberio Rabboni, President of AREPO and in charge of agriculture at the region of Emilia-Romagna. Both organizations also expect the effective application of the rules concerning geographical indications as absolute grounds for refusing trade mark applications.
Moreover, oriGIn and AREPO welcome the recent publication by the European Commission of a Study on geographical indications for non-agricultural products, which clearly highlights the huge potential of the sector in Europe. As a result, both organizations encourage the European institutions to work in the following years on the establishment of a sound community legal framework providing non agriculture geographical indications with an effective protection.
