Moldova’s association with the European Union will not generate negative changes as regards the reciprocal respect for geographical indications, said the director of the Brands, Models and Industrial Designs Department of the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI) Simion Levitski. The specialist was asked by IPN to provide explanations following statements by Communists that the national producers will be affected from this viewpoint when the Association Agreement comes into force.
Simion Levitski said the relations on this segment are regulated by the EU – Moldova agreement on the protection of geographical indications of agricultural and food products, which took effect on April 1, 2013. By this accord, Moldova and the EU pledged to reciprocally ensure the protection of geographical indications. Thus, the European Union sent a list of over 3,000 geographical indications and appellations of origin registered in the EU to Moldova, while Moldova, for its part, presented its own list that includes two names of origin, both for wine - Ciumai and Romanesti. These names were later published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This January, the joint committee set up based on the agreement on the protection of geographical indications of agricultural and food products held its first meeting, where the EU presented a list of 358 new geographical indications, while Moldova provided a list of four geographical indications registered in 2013. These are: Divin, for brandy from aged wine, and three geographical indications for wine - Codru, Stefan Voda, and Valul lui Traian.
According to Simion Levitski, the application for registering geographical indications or appellations of origin must be submitted on behalf of a group. ‘Group’ means any association of producers or processors, regardless of the legal form of organization, which produces the goods specified in the application. In the future, when new geographical indications or appellations of origin are registered, Moldova will be able to present them to the EU so as to ensure their protection based on the mentioned agreement.
