Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-03-15-Speech-3-346"
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"en.20060315.26.3-346"2
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".
Mr President, I want to start by thanking Mr Graefe zu Baringdorf and the members of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development for all the work they have carried out on both reports, the first on protection of geographical indications and designations of origin and the second on traditional specialities guaranteed.
There is a similar need to streamline and standardise the content of applications so that more efficient procedures are adopted and so that producers who make the effort to engage in quality schemes are not disappointed by approvals being delayed for several years.
I also consider it important to correct a number of inconsistencies and to reflect substantial advances in legal drafting standards since 1992. At the same time, we propose simplifications and clarifications and other improvements identical to those proposed for geographical indications and designations of origin.
Finally, we are keen to make it clear in this regulation that WTO rules are respected and to forestall any criticism.
In conclusion, these proposals achieve WTO conformity and introduce limited but necessary housekeeping that is designed to streamline and clarify procedures. We can thereby underpin the mechanisms and better serve producers and consumers who rely on denominations. However, particularly in the light of the WTO deadline of 3 April 2006, we did not propose deeper policy changes. Those will be addressed in due course within the framework of a wide reflection on agricultural quality policy.
The Commission appreciates the efficient organisation of your work, which has enabled adoption of the reports within a short period of time. In my opening statement I address both reports, thereby focusing on the general background that has led to these Commission proposals.
Firstly, as regards the report on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin, almost 14 years ago the European Community established a voluntary system of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs other than wines and spirits. Since 1993, over 700 names have been registered. Almost 300 requests are currently waiting for registration; this gives an idea of the success of this system.
This success may explain the interest shown by our trade partners in this regulation. The conclusions of the recent WTO panels on cases brought by the US and Australia impose on us the obligation to open the Community scheme to direct applications and objections from individuals in third countries.
This is the fundamental reason for the proposal you have on the table: to ensure conformity with the conclusions of the panels. On the basis of experience gained in managing the registration process, we realised that the current system would not survive an additional burden of direct applications from operators in third countries. Thus we had to streamline the system and make it more efficient.
If we simply conform to WTO rules without increasing the efficiency of the functioning of the system, the whole approval process could come to a standstill. I should add that, in order to avoid any risk of a new complaint at WTO level, the procedure for third-country and EU denominations should be as similar as possible.
We have all been surprised by the extent of the changes required under the WTO ruling. While the Community won the panel on the substantive trademark issue, we lost on the procedural questions. We also included one clear policy change, namely promoting the use of Community logos for enhancing the credibility of the system. Apart from that, however, there are no policy initiatives, as the primary purpose of the proposal is to conform to the WTO panel findings within the deadline.
The many demands and suggestions for policy development set out in the amendments adopted in the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development are issues that deserve more time to be adequately addressed.
Let me turn now to the other proposal, which concerns traditional specialities guaranteed. In spite of the modest number of products registered, some producers have shown their interest in this regulation. There are only 50 names registered as traditional specialities guaranteed, but there are 19 applications pending at Community level and a number of others under examination in the Member States. This regulation has not been amended since its adoption in 1992. The procedures have been designed neither for 25 nor for 27 Member States, or for handling a significant number of applications."@en1
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