Abstract
The strong action of the European legislator in the field of food safety leaves only a small space of autonomy to the national and regional levels. The same cannot be said for the protection of food quality. Indeed, National authorities can create food quality promotion and protection systems, alternative and complementary to those of the European Union (Regulation 1151/2012). But, being managed by public bodies, the national certification schemes cannot entail restrictions based on the national origin of producers or otherwise impede the single market. Moving from these considerations, this chapter deepens the issue of compatibility between European law and national and regional schemes for the promotion of typical and local food products, such as those that introduce public geographic trademarks with the aim of highlighting the typicality of the product or specific features linked to its place of origin. After a brief overview of the events that led Member States to repeal many national and regional laws establishing origin trademarks this chapter focuses on the recent positions of the European Commission and of the Court of Justice on this issue and on the characteristics of regional marks and labels considered to be compatible with EU law. Finally, using Italy as an example, this chapter describes some regional quality labels and focuses on the difficulties in finding solutions that strike a balance between the needs of producers and consumers and the principle of the free movement of goods.
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Notes
- 1.
Mangiameli (2014).
- 2.
The Treaty does not mention the subject “Foodstuffs”. However, whether it is included in the subject Agriculture—Art. 43 TEU (ex 37 TEC) on the Common Agricultural Policy is indicated by the EU legislator as the first juridical base in Regulation 1151/2012 on the quality of agricultural and food products and in Regulation 178/2002 on food safety—or in the Health Protection—Art. 168 TEU (ex 152 TEC) is the juridical base of Regulation 852/2004 on the Hygiene of foodstuffs and, in addition to the Art. 43, of the abovementioned Regulation 178—it would be a subject for concurrent powers. On the powers in food matters refer to Germanò et al. (2014), pp. 13–16.
- 3.
Germanò et al. (2014).
- 4.
According to Germanò et al. (2014, p. 16) “For the safety and health related aspects, food is a subject that the Union took over when on 28 January 2002 it issued Regulation 178/2002 on Food safety”.
- 5.
- 6.
- 7.
Regulation (EU) 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and the of the Council of 17 December 2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Council Regulation (EC) 1698/2005.
- 8.
See Recital 14 of Regulation (EU) 1305/2013 and Art. 16 (“Quality schemes for agricultural products, and foodstuffs”) that envisages support for farmers who participate also in quality schemes recognised by Member States (par. 1, lett. b).
- 9.
Regulation (EU) 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and the of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs.
- 10.
Council Regulation (EC) 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) 2092/91.
- 11.
Recital 44, Regulation 1151/2012.
- 12.
OJ C 341, 16 December 2010, p. 5.
- 13.
Article 107 of the TFEU.
- 14.
Established with Act 1272/1927.
- 15.
Sicily, Regional Law 14/1966.
- 16.
Apulia, Regional Law 8/1988 “Rules on the use of the trademark of origin and quality for actions promoting provate consortia for the economic enhancement of Apulian agricultural and animal products”.
- 17.
Veneto, Regional law 11/1988 “Initiatives for the enhancement of agricultural products and foodstuffs of Veneto”.
- 18.
- 19.
Council Regulation (EEC) 2081/92 of 14 July 1992 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs.
- 20.
This is stated in point 6 of the conclusions of General Attorney Mischo of 5 December 2002, case 6/02, Commission vs. French Republic.
- 21.
Art. 34: “Quantitative restrictions on imports and all measures having equivalent effect shall be prohibited between Member States”.
- 22.
Losavio (2007b), pp. 173 et seqq.
- 23.
CJEC, Case C-325/00 Commission of the European Communities v Federal Republic of Germany [2002] ECR I-09977.
- 24.
CJEC, Case C-6/02 Commission of the European Communities v French Republic [2003] ECR I-02389.
- 25.
CJEC, Case C-255/03 Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium [2004].
- 26.
The Pistre judgment of May 1997 on the use of the word ‘mountain’ (CJEC, Joined Cases C-321/94, C-322/94, C-323/94, C-324/94 [1997] ECR I-02343). The French legislation governing the use of the word “mountain” for products coming from the mountain areas across the national territory was declared to be incompatible with Community law and particularly with Article 28 of the EC Treaty.
- 27.
Judgment of the Court of 12 October 1978—Joh. Eggers Sohn & Co. v Freie Hansestadt Bremen, Case 13/78.
- 28.
- 29.
Document SG(98) D/1618 of 24.02.1998.
- 30.
OJ C 204 1 July 2014, p. 1.
- 31.
… consistent with the following criteria: i) the specificity of the end product protected by such schemes shall derive from strict obligations that ensure: specific characteristics of the product, or specific production methods, or a quality of the product that is significantly above the current commercial standards in terms of public health, animal health and environmental protection; (ii) the quality scheme shall be accessible to all producers; (iii) the quality scheme shall comprise binding production rules, whose compliance shall be checked by public authorities or by an independent control body; (iv) the quality scheme shall be transparent and ensure full traceability of the agricultural products.
- 32.
Section 1.1.9. “Aid for the participation of producers of agricultural products in quality schemes”. The Communication refers, for certification schemes, to the already mentioned EU best practice guidelines for voluntary certification schemes.
- 33.
1.3.2 Aid for promotion measures in favour of agricultural products, p. 66.
- 34.
Integrated production, aimed at reducing to a minimum the use of chemical substances (products for crops and fertilizers) but also reduced consumption of water and energy. As in the case of the trademarks of Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Veneto.
- 35.
Cfr. Emilia-Romagna, Deliberation of the Regional Government 1436/2001.
- 36.
“Enhancement of agricultural products and foodstuffs obtained using techniques that respect the environment and consumers’ health”.
- 37.
“Rules for the enhancement of the agricultural products and foodstuffs obtained using integrated production techniques and protection against misleading advertising”.
- 38.
See “Regulation on the Collective trademark Agriquality, Product obtained from integrated agriculture” in accordance with Art. 3, Regional Law 25/1999.
- 39.
Veneto, Regional Law 12/2001 “Protection and enhancement of quality agricultural products and quality agrifood products”.
- 40.
Marche, Regional Law 23/2003 “Interventions in support of schemes certifying the quality and traceability of agricultural and agrifood products”. Cfr., also, Deliberations of the Regional Government 257/2006 and 536/2006 approving the final texts of the rules on the use of the “QM – Quality guaranteed by the Marche Region” trademark and of the guidelines for drafting the rules on branded products and services.
- 41.
Council Regulation (EC) 207/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the Community trade mark.
- 42.
Deliberation of the Regional Government 1100/2012 “Approval of the logo and of the regulation on the use of the Apulia Quality Products trademark”.
- 43.
In 2011, the Commission invited the regional authorities to adopt amendments to ensure compliance of the use of the trade mark with Article 34 TFEU.
- 44.
See Article 2, Deliberation of the Regional Government 1100/2012.
- 45.
Bolzano, Provincial law 12/2005 “Measures for ensuring quality of foodstuffs and adoption of the ‘quality trademark with indication of origin’”.
- 46.
“Interventions in support of quality and traceability of the agricultural products and foodstuffs of the Abruzzi Region”.
- 47.
- 48.
- 49.
Canfora (2013), pp. 160–161.
- 50.
Canfora (2013), p. 163.
- 51.
P7_TA-PROV(2014)0017. The Resolution follows the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the opinions of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Committee on Regional Development (A7-0456/2013).
- 52.
“Promotion measures and information provision for agricultural products: a reinforced value-added European strategy for promoting the tastes of Europe” of 14 July 2011—COM(2011) 436 def.
- 53.
“Short supply chains are a means to improve the income of producers, ensure survival of a large number of companies thanks above all to higher margins, decrease transportation costs and ensure greater autonomy in the agro-industrial sector”.
- 54.
COM(2013) 866, final Report of 6 December 2013, on the case for a local farming and direct sales labelling scheme. The Report follows up on Art. 55 of Regulation 1151/2012.
- 55.
Instead, it paved the way for a deeper debate. Already in the Annex to the Report, indeed, the Commission identified “Proposed issues to be addressed in the framework of discussions on the Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the case for a local farming and direct sales labelling scheme”.
- 56.
Canfora (2013), p. 151.
- 57.
Ultimately, the multiplying effects on the local communities, in terms of environmental friendliness and socio-economic benefits, are the elements that attribute to this category of products “that extra something” (cfr. Report by the Commission to Parliament and to the Council Council on the case for a local farming and direct sales labelling scheme, cit., p. 5). It is obvious that other characteristics linked to the special properties of a given product may be added (namely that the local products are also DOPs, IGPs or biological etc.), but these aspects should remain distinct.
- 58.
Veneto, Regional Law 3/2010.
- 59.
A similar rule was introduced also by Basilicata in Regional Law 12/2012 (“Rules for supporting the consumption of regional zero kilometre agricultural products”), which was declared to be unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court, Judgment 209 of 3–18 July 2013, on which cfr. Masini (2013), pp. 670–672.
- 60.
“Interventions for the development of agriculture and fishing. Rule on crafts, cooperation and trade. Amendments to the budget”.
- 61.
The law supplements the Consolidated Act of regional laws on agriculture, forestry, hunting, fishing and rural development (Lombardy, Regional Law 31/2008) with rules on rural markets and the promotion of local products.
- 62.
It is further recalled that at the national level the bill “Rules for enhancing agricultural products and foodstuffs from high quality “zero kilometre” short supply chains”, envisages, amongst other things, the establishment of the “zero kilometre” supply chain trademark “that identifies agricultural products and foodstuffs with proven environmental sustainability and reduced amounts of pollutants in their production and distribution processes”. This statement “can be included … . in the sales receipt in markets and commercial facilities that sell such products” by the companies registered in an ad hoc list.
- 63.
On local products refer to Sirsi (2014), pp. 499–505.
- 64.
Refer to other Italian regional laws on the enhancement and promotion of local products and “zero kilometre” produce, cfr. Losavio (2011), pp. 93–107.
- 65.
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Losavio, C. (2018). Regional Quality Labels for Agro-Food Products. In: Isoni, A., Troisi, M., Pierri, M. (eds) Food Diversity Between Rights, Duties and Autonomies. LITES - Legal Issues in Transdisciplinary Environmental Studies, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75196-2_9
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