Slovenia on Wednesday sent to the European Commission its objections to the Commission’s proposal regarding the adoption of a delegated act allowing Croatia to use the name Teran wine, asking that the procedure to adopt the delegated act be stopped, said Slovenian Agriculture Minister Dejan Židan.
In the letter to the European Commission, Slovenia said the procedure of the adoption of the delegated act was non-transparent and that the regulations for the adoption of such act were not respected. Slovenia also underlined that the interests of Slovenian wine producers were not taken into consideration. Slovenian winemakers and the Ministry of Agriculture have strongly lobbied in Brussels to ensure that the European Commission withdraws the proposal that the wine produced in Istria from the Teran grape variety can be sold under the label “Croatian Istria – Teran”. Before Croatia’s accession to the EU Slovenia protected Teran as its own product at EU level, meaning that no one but Slovenian winemakers were allowed to sell wine under that name. Croatia disagreed with this, saying that Slovenia did not have the right to protect Teran because the wine produced in the Slovenian part of the region of Istria under that name was made from the Refosco grape variety, while in the Croatian part of Istria it was made from the Teran grape variety.
The European Commission had for several years tried to get the two sides to reach a compromise but without any success. Eventually, it decided to prepare a draft delegated act allowing an exception enabling Croatian winemakers to use the name Teran. Slovenia now questions the jurisdiction of the European Commission with regard to the adoption of the delegated act, claiming that only smaller technical changes could be incorporated in EU legislation by delegated acts, but not issues such as protected designations of origin.
