Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/198 of 13 February 2020 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 251/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the establishment of the register of geographical indications protected in the sector of aromatised wine products and the listing of the existing geographical designations in that register

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to 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 ¹, and in particular Article 21 and Article 26(1) and (3) thereof,

Whereas:

• (1) Annex II to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91 ² set out the list of geographical designations of aromatised wine products granted protection under that Regulation. Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91 was repealed and replaced by Regulation (EU) No 251/2014. Chapter III of Regulation (EU) No 251/2014 lays down rules on the protection of geographical indications in the aromatised wines sector. That Chapter also empowers the Commission to inter alia adopt implementing acts to establish and maintain a publically accessible electronic register of geographical indications for aromatised wine products protected under that regulation. That register should be maintained in a Commission website.

• (2) Pursuant to Article 26(1) of Regulation (EU) No 251/2014, existing geographical designations of aromatised wine products listed in Annex II of Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91 or submitted to a Member State and approved by that Member State before 27 March 2014 are automatically protected as geographical indications under that Regulation. However, in accordance with Article 26(3) of the Regulation, existing geographical designations for which the concerned Member State has not transmitted the technical file and the national decision of approval to the Commission by 28 March 2017 should be removed from the register.

• (3) By 28 March 2017, the Commission received the technical file and the national decision of approval of the existing geographical designations of aromatised wine products listed in Annex II of Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91‘Nürnberger Glühwein’ (on 17 March 2017), ‘Samoborski bermet’ (on 23 March 2017), ‘Thüringer Glühwein’ (on 17 March 2017) and ‘Vermut di Torino’ or ‘Vermouth di Torino’ (on 24 March 2017).

• (4) The geographical designation ‘Vino Naranja del Condado de Huelva’ was approved by Spain on 6 July 2011. The Commission received the related technical file and national decision of approval on 14 March 2017.

• (5) The Commission assessed the existing geographical designations ‘Nürnberger Glühwein’, ‘Samoborski bermet’, ‘Thüringer Glühwein’, ‘Vermut di Torino’ or ‘Vermouth di Torino’ and ‘Vino Naranja del Condado de Huelva’ and concluded that they comply with the definition of geographical indication as provided for in point (3) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 251/2014.

• (6) Therefore, the existing geographical designations ‘Nürnberger Glühwein’, ‘Samoborski bermet’, ‘Thüringer Glühwein’, ‘Vermut di Torino’ or ‘Vermouth di Torino’ and ‘Vino Naranja del Condado de Huelva’ should be entered in the register as geographical indications for aromatised wine products protected under Regulation (EU) No 251/2014.

• (7) The Commission has not received the technical file and the national decision of approval of the existing geographical designation ‘Vermouth de Chambéry’. The existing geographical designation ‘Vermouth de Chambéry’ has therefore lost the protection as of 29 March 2017. Since the register has yet to be established, the Commission should refrain from listing the name ‘Vermouth de Chambéry’ in the register.

• (8) For the sake of clarity and following the request of the applicants, the name of the existing Italian geographical designation indicated in Annex II to Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91 as either ‘Vermouth di Torino’ or ‘Vermut di Torino’ depending on the linguistic versions of the Regulation, should be entered in the register as ‘Vermut di Torino’ / ‘Vermouth di Torino’,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Register

Article 2

Existing geographical designations

The following existing geographical designations are listed in the register as geographical indications protected in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 251/2014:

• (a) ‘Nürnberger Glühwein’;

• (b) ‘Samoborski bermet’;

• (c) ‘Thüringer Glühwein’;

• (d) ‘Vermut di Torino’ / ‘Vermouth di Torino’;

• (e) ‘Vino Naranja del Condado de Huelva’.

Article 3

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 13 February 2020.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN