ArmInfo.On September 26, the 3rd session of the Geographical Indications sub-committee, operating under the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Armenia and the European Union, took place online. RA Deputy Minister of Economy Rafael Gevorgyan chaired the meeting, the press service of the RA Ministry of Economy reports.
During the meeting, the current state of work carried out towards the implementation of the provisions on geographical indications "champagne" and "cognac" enshrined in CEPA was discussed. Bilateral legislative developments and changes to geographical indication listings were presented.
It should be reminded that on September 13, the Armenian parliament adopted amendments to the law "On Geographical Indications", according to which the products of a number of manufacturers must be confirmed by their geographical origin. At that time, RA Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan noted that due to poor awareness and other reasons, Armenian producers often do not indicate the geographical origin of the goods, which creates difficulties in their export in transit through the territory of Georgia. The draft law proposes to fix geographical names for a number of domestic products - matsun, tan, sujukh, basturma, a number of cheeses and alcoholic beverages. Manufacturers are invited to form associations and register the geographical name of the product, after which the state will assist in its registration on international platforms. After that, by signing an agreement with Georgia on the mutual recognition of the geographical origin of goods, it will be possible to freely carry out transit transportation. The minister added that currently only one geographical origin of the product is registered - Ishkhan of Sevan.
Let us recall that earlier Georgia banned the delivery of products called "matsun" to its territory and transit through its territory, citing the fact that "matsoni" is officially registered in the country.
In June last year, the Armenian government approved a financial agreement with the European Union, which provides for the provision of 3 million euros to Armenia as part of the process of smoothly phasing out the geographical indication "cognac" for Armenian alcoholic products. The purpose of the financial agreement is to contribute to a smooth and efficient phase-out of the use of the geographical indication "cognac" for Armenian products, as well as to help the Armenian industry to maintain its competitiveness in export markets. In particular, the program provides for the development of a new name for the Armenian cognac, its advertising and marketing in the domestic and traditional foreign markets. The project is being implemented in accordance with the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the EU. According to the document, Armenia was given 25 years to give up the name "cognac".
