Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
or registered office of the author of the request is located supporting the request for
cancellation.
4.163
Case T-194/10,
Hungary v Commission
,
43
concerned an annulment action
brought by Hungary, seeking to overturn a protected Slovakian designation of
origin for wine produced in the Tokaj region, which both countries share. The
Commission had registered the PDO 'Vinohradnicka oblast' Tokaj' on Slova-
kia's behalf in the 2006 and 2007 lists of quality wines produced in specified
regions (QWPSR). On 31 July 2009, the day before the EU established the
E-Bacchus database to publish the QWPSR lists, Slovakia requested a modi-
fied designation: 'Tokajská/Tokajské/Tokajsky vinohradnicka oblast' which
became the new protected designation on the electronic database. Several
months later, Slovakia requested that the Commission revert to the original
designation of origin, and the Commission amended the designation as
requested.
4.164
Hungary then contested the amendment, claiming violations of applicable
regulations and contending that the name 'Tokajská/Tokajské/Tokajsky vino-
hradnicka oblast' enjoyed Community protection, on 1 August 2009, 'the date
of the entry into force of the new legislation of the Union on the market in the
wine sector'. The court found that wine names protected in the EU before
the E-Bacchus database was introduced 'are automatically protected under the
legislation in force since that database was introduced'. Thus, the protection 'did
not depend on the registration of those names in the database'. According to the
court, the registration was simply the result of an automatic transition 'from one
regulatory regime to another, of protection that has already been granted and is
not a condition for the grant of that protection'.
5. Documents accompanying request for cancellation
4.165
Article 22(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 607/2009 provides that any
request for cancellation shall contain details of the facts, evidence and com-
ments submitted in support of the cancellation, accompanied by the relevant
supporting documents.
4.166
Article 22(3) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 607/2009 provides that if
detailed information concerning the grounds, facts, evidence and comments, as
well as the supporting documents referred to in paras 1 and 2, have not been
produced at the same time as the request for cancellation, the Commission shall
inform the author of the request for cancellation accordingly and shall invite
43
Gen. Ct., judgment, 8 November 2012.
