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For Italy, no more battles against Slovenian balsamic vinegar or Croatian Prosek. In fact, with the agreement reached on 24 October between the negotiators of the Council and those of the EU Commission, the new single European law on PDO and PGI productions will enter into force by the first months of 2024, which will raise the guarantees reserved for protected and it will strengthen the role of consortia and transparency towards consumers. «In particular – explains the MEP Paolo De Castro, rapporteur of the European Parliament for the new EU regulation – the obligation will be introduced to indicate the name of the producer on the label of any PDO and PGI, and those flaws in the system that allow the reputation of our GIs to be unduly exploited, as in the case of Slovenian and Cypriot balsamic vinegar, or Prosek made in Croatia.” The new regulation in fact clarifies that requests for registration of traditional terms, such as that of Prosek, can no longer be taken into consideration, as they are identical or evocative of PDO or PGI names. «We have resolved the issue from a legislative point of view, avoiding an Italian sounding within the borders of the EU – specified De Castro – but the regulation is not retroactive. Therefore, for the cases still open, the decision remains in the hands of the Commission, which we hope will take into consideration the political agreement reached today with the co-legislators and its value”.
The EU now has over 3,600 products in its quality register, worth over 80 billion euros. A system that has continued to grow steadily since the 1990s, when it was designed by the EU: «The PDO and PGI system is one of the reasons why we have a surplus in agri-food trade», underlined EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski , who also recalled how Italy is the leader in Europe in terms of number of registrations.
With the reform, PDO and PGI products will also benefit from protection in the internet domain system, with an immediate geoblocking system for all illicit content. Finally, if Igs are used as ingredients, it will be necessary to inform the consortium of the use of the product. “The fight against fake Made in Italy food depends on the defense of the system of European geographical indications – recalled the president of Coldiretti, Ettore Prandini – which is worth over 120 billion euros worldwide”.