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The European Commission published a proposal to revise geographical indications (GIs) legislation that provides producer groups with the opportunity to voluntarily include sustainability criteria going beyond the requirements for GI product specifications under EU law. The text also states that the Commission may adopt secondary legislation to define sustainability standards in different sectors.

While CCFN welcomes initiatives to improve sustainability, we believe that policy instruments of a horizontal nature are best suited to pursue that objective. In addition, the introduction of sustainability criteria for GIs will likely lead to new common name restrictions imposed on producers outside the EU. CCFN submitted comments in August providing the common name users’ perspective and calling for the right to use common names to be respected in the development of the final version of the law.

The notification can be accessed here.