Italian MEPs Paolo De Castro (in the picture above) and Ernest Dorfmann intervened on the obstacles that China is about to introduce to hinder the promotion of European agri-food products. The two MEPs asked for an intervention of the EU Commission, to avoid further commercial difficulties for the Consortia for the protection of F&B products with Protected Geographical Indication (GIs).
“China’s request is in stark contrast to the agreement that has just entered into force between the EU and the People’s Republic of China.” This, in short, is the message of Paolo De Castro and Herbert Dorfmann, S&D and EPP coordinators at the Agriculture Committee of the European Parliament.
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“In recent weeks – explain the two MEPs – the Chinese authorities have in fact made a request to the Consortia for the protection of European GI products: to get a legal representative in the People’s Republic of China in order to carry out normal activities of promotion of their products. A request that would imply fan immediate interruption of promotional activities in China or the protection Consortia. With serious repercussions in terms of visibility and protection of European high-quality products, exacerbating a situation already critical due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Considering that this request is in contrast with the recent entry into force of the agreement between the European Union and the People’s Republic of China on cooperation and protection against imitation and misuse of the denomination of 200 European and Chinese GIs, De Castro and Dorfmann, therefore ask the Commission “to intervene with the Chinese authorities to clarify this situation, and to prepare immediate measures to safeguard the protection and promotion of Italian and European Geographical Indications in China.”