EUROPEAN COMMISSION - HALLOUMI OUT OF PROTECTION STATUS IN EU-AUSTRALIA AGREEMENT - OPEN WINDOW FOR FUTURE ACCESSION - Filenews 26/3
The European Commission has provided clarifications on the protection status of halloumi in the context of the EU-Australia trade agreement announced on March 24, in response to a question from CNA
According to a Commission spokesperson, halloumi is not included in the existing text of the EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement, as "the Geographical Indication (PGI-GI) Halloumi was not part of the original EU list for protection in Australia, which was drawn up in 2019".
As the spokesperson explained, "halloumi was only registered at EU level in 2021, and therefore could not be included in this initial list."
However, the Commission underlined that the agreement provides for a mechanism for a future extension of protection. "The agreement includes provisions that allow the parties to amend the original list in order to add, after its entry into force and following due process, additional geographical indications," the spokesman said. He even clarified that this can be done in future talks between the two sides on the free trade agreement, which, however, do not have a hard timetable.
Based on the above, the possibility of halloumi being included in the protection regime of the agreement remains open in the future, given the Commission's commitment to protect authentic production in parallel with the conclusion of trade agreements.
CNA
