Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012
Article 2
Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 is amended as follows: (1) in Article 1(2), point (b) is replaced by the following: ‘(b) value-adding attributes resulting from the farming or processing methods used in their production, or from the place of their production or marketing, or from their possible contribution to sustainable development.’; (2) in Article 2, paragraphs 2 and 3 are replaced by the following: ‘2. This Regulation shall not apply to spirit drinks or grapevine products as defined in Annex VII, Part II, to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, with the exception of wine-vinegars. 3. Registrations made pursuant to Article 52 are without prejudice to the obligation of producers to comply with other Union rules, in particular those relating to the placing of products on the market and to food labelling.’; (3) in Article 5, paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following: ‘1. For the purpose of this Regulation, a “designation of origin” is a name, which may be a traditionally used name, which identifies a product: (a) originating in a specific place, region or, in exceptional cases, country; (b) whose quality or characteristics are essentially or exclusively due to a particular geographical environment with its inherent natural and human factors; and (c) the production steps of which all take place in the defined geographical area. 2. For the purpose of this Regulation, a “geographical indication” is a name, including a traditionally used name, which identifies a product: (a) originating in a specific place, region or country; (b) whose given quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to its geographical origin; and (c) at least one of the production steps of which takes place in the defined geographical area.’; (4) in Article 6, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. A name may not be registered as a designation of origin or geographical indication where it conflicts with a name of a plant variety or an animal breed and is likely to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product or to cause confusion between products with the registered designation and the variety or breed in question. The conditions referred to in the first subparagraph shall be assessed in relation to the actual use of the names in conflict, including the use of the name of the plant variety or animal breed outside its area of origin and the use of the name of a plant variety protected by another intellectual property right.’; (5) in Article 7, paragraph 1 is amended as follows: (a) point (f) is replaced by the following: ‘(f) details establishing the following: (i) as regards a protected designation of origin, the link between the quality or characteristics of the product and the geographical environment referred to in Article 5(1); the details concerning human factors of that geographical environment may, where relevant, be limited to a description of the soil and landscape management, cultivation practices or any other relevant human contribution to the maintenance of the natural factors of the geographical environment referred to in that paragraph; (ii) as regards a protected geographical indication, the link between a given quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product and the geographical origin referred to in Article 5(2);’ (b) the following subparagraph is added: ‘The product specification may contain a description of the contribution of the designation of origin or geographical indication to sustainable development.’; (6) in Article 10(1), the introductory wording is replaced by the following: ‘A reasoned statement of opposition as referred to in Article 51(1) shall be admissible only if it is received by the Commission within the time limit set out in that paragraph and if it:’; (7) in Article 12, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: ‘3. In the case of products originating in the Union that are marketed under a protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication registered in accordance with the procedures laid down in this Regulation, the Union symbols associated with them shall appear on the labelling and advertising materials. The labelling requirements set out in Article 13(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 for the presentation of mandatory particulars shall apply to the registered name of the product. The indications “protected designation of origin” or “protected geographical indication” or the corresponding abbreviations “PDO” or “PGI” may appear on the labelling.’; (8) Article 13 is amended as follows: (a) in paragraph 1, point (a) is replaced by the following: ‘(a) any direct or indirect commercial use of a registered name in respect of products not covered by the registration where those products are comparable to the products registered under that name or where using the name exploits, weakens or dilutes the reputation of the protected name, including when those products are used as an ingredient;’; (b) the following paragraph is added: ‘4. The protection referred to in paragraph 1 shall also apply with regard to: (a) goods entering the customs territory of the Union without being released for free circulation within the customs territory of the Union; and (b) goods sold by means of distance selling, such as electronic commerce. For goods entering the customs territory of the Union without being released for free circulation within that territory, the group or any operator entitled to use the protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication shall be entitled to prevent all third parties from bringing goods, in the course of trade, into the Union without being released for free circulation there, where such goods, including packaging, come from third countries and bear without authorisation the protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication.’; (9) Article 15 is amended as follows: (a) in paragraph 1, the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: ‘Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 57(2) except where an admissible statement of opposition is lodged under Article 49(3).’; (b) in paragraph 2, the introductory wording is replaced by the following: ‘Without prejudice to Article 14, the Commission may adopt implementing acts extending the transitional period mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article to up to 15 years in duly justified cases where it is shown that:’; (10) the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 16a Existing geographical indications for aromatised wine products Names entered in the register established pursuant to Article 21 of Regulation (EU) No 251/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( *7 ) shall automatically be entered in the register referred to in Article 11 of this Regulation as protected geographical indications. The corresponding specifications shall be deemed to be specifications for the purposes of Article 7 of this Regulation. ( *7 ) Regulation (EU) No 251/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of aromatised wine products and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91 ( OJ L 84, 20.3.2014, p. 14 ).’;" (11) in Article 21(1), the introductory wording is replaced by the following: ‘1. A reasoned statement of opposition as referred to in Article 51(1) shall be admissible only if it is received by the Commission before expiry of the time limit and if it:’; (12) in Article 23, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: ‘3. In the case of products originating in the Union that are marketed under a traditional speciality guaranteed registered in accordance with this Regulation, the symbol referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall, without prejudice to paragraph 4 of this Article, appear on the labelling and advertising materials. The labelling requirements set out in Article 13(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 for the presentation of mandatory particulars shall apply to the registered name of the product. The indication “traditional speciality guaranteed” or the corresponding abbreviation “TSG” may appear on the labelling. The symbol shall be optional on the labelling of traditional specialities guaranteed which are produced outside the Union.’; (13) Article 24 is amended as follows: (a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. Registered names shall be protected against any misuse, imitation or evocation, including as regards products used as ingredients, or against any other practice liable to mislead the consumer.’; (b) the following paragraph is added: ‘4. The protection referred to in paragraph 1 shall also apply with regard to goods sold through means of distance selling, such as electronic commerce.’; (14) the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 24a Transitional periods for use of traditional specialities guaranteed The Commission may adopt implementing acts granting a transitional period of up to five years to enable products the designation of which consists of or contains a name that contravenes Article 24(1) to continue to use the designation under which they were marketed on condition that an admissible statement of opposition under Article 49(3) or Article 51 shows that such name has been legally used on the Union market for at least five years preceding the date of the publication provided for in Article 50(2), point (b). Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 57(2) except where an admissible statement of opposition is lodged under Article 49(3).’; (15) in Article 49, the following paragraph is added: ‘8. The Member State shall inform the Commission without delay if any proceedings are initiated before a national court or other national body concerning an application lodged with the Commission, in accordance with paragraph 4, and if the application has been invalidated at national level by an immediately applicable but not final judicial decision.’; (16) Article 50 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 50 Scrutiny by the Commission and publication for opposition 1. The Commission shall examine applications for registration that it receives in accordance with Article 49(4) and (5). The Commission shall check that the applications contain the required information and that they do not contain manifest errors, taking into account the outcome of the scrutiny and opposition procedure carried out by the Member State concerned. Scrutiny by the Commission should not exceed a period of six months from the date of receipt of the application from the Member State. Where that period is exceeded, the Commission shall inform the applicant of the reasons for the delay in writing. The Commission shall, at least each month, publish the list of names for which applications for registration have been submitted to it, as well as the date of their submission. 2. Where, based on the scrutiny carried out pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, the Commission considers that the conditions laid down in Articles 5 and 6 are fulfilled as regards registration applications under the scheme set out in Title II, or that the conditions laid down in Article 18(1) and (2) are fulfilled as regards applications under the scheme set out in Title III, it shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union : (a) for applications under the scheme set out in Title II, the single document and the reference to the publication of the product specification; (b) for applications under the scheme set out in Title III, the specification. 3. The Commission shall be exempted from the obligation to meet the deadline to perform the scrutiny referred to in paragraph 1 and to inform the applicant of the reasons for the delay where it receives a communication from a Member State concerning an application for registration lodged with the Commission in accordance with Article 49(4) which either: (a) informs the Commission that the application has been invalidated at national level by an immediately applicable but not final judicial decision; or (b) requests the Commission to suspend the scrutiny referred to in paragraph 1 because national judicial proceedings have been initiated to challenge the validity of the application and the Member State considers that those proceedings are based on valid grounds. The exemption shall have effect until the Commission is informed by the Member State that the original application has been restored or that the Member State withdraws its request for suspension.’; (17) Article 51 is amended as follows: (a) paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 are replaced by the following: ‘1. Within three months from the date of publication in the Official Journal of the European Union , the authorities of a Member State or of a third country, or any natural or legal person resident or established in a third country and having a legitimate interest, may lodge a reasoned statement of opposition with the Commission. Any natural or legal person resident or established in a Member State other than that from which the application was submitted, and having a legitimate interest, may lodge a reasoned statement of opposition with the Member State in which it is resident or established within a time limit permitting an opposition to be lodged pursuant to the first subparagraph. 2. The Commission shall examine the admissibility of the reasoned statement of opposition on the basis of the grounds for opposition laid down in Article 10 as regards protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications and on the basis of the grounds for opposition laid down in Article 21 as regards traditional specialities guaranteed. 3. If the Commission considers that the reasoned statement of opposition is admissible it shall, within five months from the date of publication of the application in the Official Journal of the European Union , invite the authority or person that lodged the reasoned statement of opposition and the authority or body that lodged the application with the Commission to engage in appropriate consultations for a reasonable period that shall not exceed three months. The authority or person that lodged the reasoned statement of opposition and the authority or body that lodged the application shall start such appropriate consultations without undue delay. They shall provide each other with the relevant information to assess whether the application for registration complies with the conditions laid down in this Regulation. If no agreement is reached, this information shall be provided to the Commission. At any time within the period of consultations, the Commission may, at the request of the applicant, extend the deadline for the consultations by a maximum of three months.’; (b) paragraph 5 is replaced by the following: ‘5. The reasoned statement of opposition and other documents which are sent to the Commission in accordance with paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall be in one of the official languages of the Union.’; (18) in Article 52, paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following: ‘1. Where, on the basis of the information available to the Commission from the scrutiny carried out pursuant to the first subparagraph of Article 50(1), the Commission considers that the conditions laid down in Articles 5 and 6, as regards the quality schemes set out in Title II, or in Article 18, as regards the quality schemes set out in Title III, are not fulfilled, it shall adopt implementing acts rejecting the application. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 57(2). 2. If the Commission receives no admissible reasoned statement of opposition under Article 51, it shall adopt implementing acts, without applying the examination procedure referred to in Article 57(2), registering the name.’; (19) Article 53 is amended as follows: (a) the title is replaced by the following: ‘Article 53 Amendments to product specifications’; (b) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. Amendments to a product specification shall be classified into two categories as regards their importance: Union amendments, requiring an opposition procedure at the Union level, and standard amendments to be dealt with at Member State or third country level. For the purposes of this Regulation, “Union amendment” means an amendment to a product specification that: (a) includes a change in the name of the protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication, or in the use of that name; (b) risks voiding the link referred to in Article 5(1), point (b), for protected designations of origin, or the link referred to in Article 5(2), point (b), for protected geographical indications; (c) concerns a traditional speciality guaranteed; or (d) entails further restrictions on the marketing of the product. “Standard amendment” means any amendment to a product specification that is not a Union amendment. “Temporary amendment” means a standard amendment concerning a temporary change in the product specification resulting from the imposition of obligatory sanitary and phytosanitary measures by the public authorities or a temporary amendment necessary because of a natural disaster or adverse weather conditions formally recognised by the competent authorities. Union amendments shall be approved by the Commission. The approval procedure shall follow the procedure laid down in Articles 49 to 52, mutatis mutandis . The scrutiny of the application shall focus on the proposed amendment. Where appropriate, the Commission or the Member State concerned may invite the applicant to modify other elements of the product specifications. Standard amendments shall be approved and made public by the Member State in whose territory the geographical area of the product concerned is located and communicated to the Commission. Third countries shall approve standard amendments in accordance with the law applicable in the third country concerned and communicate them to the Commission.’; (c) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: ‘3. In order to facilitate the administrative process in relation to Union and standard amendments to product specifications, including where an amendment does not involve any change to the single document, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 56, complementing the rules of the amendment application process. The Commission may adopt implementing acts laying down detailed rules on the procedures for, form of and presentation of an amendment application for Union amendments, and on the procedures for and form of standard amendments and their communication to the Commission. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 57(2).’; (20) in Annex I, Point I, the following indents are added: ‘– aromatised wines as defined in Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) No 251/2014, – other alcoholic beverages, except for spirit drinks and grapevine products as defined in Annex VII, Part II, to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, – beeswax.’.