OREANDA-NEWS.  February 04, 2014. The first meeting of the Joint Committee within the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova on the protection of geographical indications of agricultural products and foodstuffs took place at the Economics Ministry, the Economics Ministry’s information and media communication service has reported.

The Joint Committee meeting was chaired by Deputy Economics Minister Octavian Calmic. Attending the event on behalf of Moldova were representatives of relevant institutions: the Economics Ministry, Agriculture Ministry, Interior Ministry, Foreign and European Integration Ministry, State Agency on Intellectual Property of Moldova (AGEPI), Agency for Consumer Protection. Representatives from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development and the European Delegation to Moldova participated on behalf of the EU.

One of the main topics of the first meeting of the Joint Committee was extending the Annexes to the Agreement with new geographical indications (GIs) and designations of origin (DOs). As a result, Moldova submitted for consideration four geographical indications registered in 2013: "Codru", "Valul lui Traian", "Divin" and "Stefan Voda", that will be included in the Annexes to the Agreement for protection on the EU territory, after public consultation procedures.

Under the agreement, a regulation of the Joint Committee’s work was approved at the meeting. At the proposal by the European Commission’s delegation, Moldova agreed to hold the committee’s chairmanship in 2014.

Another topic discussed at the meeting was the enforcement of the provisions of the Agreement between Moldova and the European Union on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs. The Moldovan side reviewed the functioning of the system for the protection of intellectual property rights for geographical indications and designations of origin, as well as the actions taken to implement the agreement.

In the end, the sides noted that, in Moldova, there were prerequisites to turn to account the opportunities offered by the agreement, such as the appropriate regulatory framework, adjusted to the EU acquis and the institutional framework. The agreement also provides for the addition, and thus protection, of new geographical indications to the agreement’s annex by the contracting sides. This will allow Moldovan producers to protect, within the EU, the native geographical indications registered according to the legislation in force, and will support the common policy in the quality sector.

The agreement between Moldova and the European Union on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs was signed in Brussels on 26 June 2012, and entered into force for Moldova on 1 April 2013.