My Department, as the Competent Authority for food and spirit drink Geographical Indications (GIs), scrutinises all applications received under the EU GI Quality Schemes to check for manifest errors and also to ensure that the application conforms to the requirements of the EU Regulations.
As the Competent Authority, my Department must also be satisfied, in submitting a PGI application to the EU Commission, that there is a verification system in place to ensure that, if successful, the PGI is protected and that the claims made in a PGI application are verifiable.
Applicants are advised when their application does not conform to EU Regulations. In the course of examination of the Specification and Single Documents that form the application for registration of a product name, officials of my Department advise applicants on the rules that must be adhered to as provided in the EU Regulation and guidelines. It is open to applicants to act on that advice.
However, it is important to note that any GI applications submitted to the EU Commission must be accompanied by a declaration by the Member State Competent Authority that it considers that the application lodged by the applicant meets the conditions of the Regulations and its provisions. Every effort is made by my Department to ensure that applications sent to the EU conform with the requirements. Applications sent are subject to EU scrutiny.
Under the EU quality schemes, achieving Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) recognition for products enables consumers to trust and distinguish quality products while also helping producers to market their products better. It is important therefore that the information provided to the EU Commission at time of application is as complete and correct as possible.
