The Italian government has activated the infringement procedure against Slovenia to protect the balsamic vinegar of Modena Igp. After months of waiting and pressure from the protection Consortium, the State Attorney’s Office has officially received the investiture to proceed to protect the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP from the attempt by Slovenia, dating back more than a year ago, to transform the denomination “balsamic vinegar” in a product standard and, therefore, to allow its use also to those who produce vinegar within the national borders. To authorize the national production, the Slovenian government had notified the European Commission a national technical regulation on the production and marketing of vinegars which, in the absence of disputes from Brussels, had entered into force in July 2021.
The Consortium for the protection of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is finally satisfied: the procedure is important, a note reads, to protect “once and for all not only the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI, but the entire system of PDO and IGP, which could probably have been at risk if the Slovenian line, which in fact violated a European regulation, had not been challenged to restore the juridical order of things and therefore what appears to be a dangerous precedent “. Indeed, allowing the use of protected indications as if they were generic indications would open a breach on the whole European system for the protection of protected designations, from “grana” to “parmesan”.
The first step after the activation of the infringement procedure will be a consultation phase at the EU Commission which will then be followed, if necessary, by the action at the European Court of Justice.