The 9th meeting of the Geographical Indications Sub-Committee (GI Sub-Committee), established in accordance with Article 306 of the Association Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, was held on September 28, in videoconference format.

The meeting was organized by the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI), the institution responsible for the implementation in the Republic of Moldova of the provisions of the Association Agreement in the field of intellectual property, including in the field of geographical indications, which currently holds the presidency of the Geographical Indications Sub-Committee.

The European Union was represented by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI). The EU delegation present at the GI Sub-Committee was led by Frank Bollen, Head of Unit AGRI G4 “Neighbourhood, Enlargement and Pre-Accession Assistance”.

The Republic of Moldova’s delegation, composed of representatives of AGEPI, the Mission of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization and the State Inspectorate for Supervision of Non-Food Products and Consumer Protection, was led by the Director General of AGEPI, Eugeniu Rusu, Chair of the GI Sub-Committee.

In the opening of the meeting of the GI Sub-Committee, the Director General of AGEPI mentioned the commitment of AGEPI specialists regarding the amendment of the national legislation in the field of GI with a view to ratifying the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications in order to offer Moldovan producers additional tools for increasing the competitiveness and export capacity of their products, as well as for the purpose of consolidating the official control system designed to ensure the foundations of a strong system of protection and promotion of geographical indications in the Republic of Moldova.

According to its mandate, the Geographical Indications Sub-Committee is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the section on geographical indications of the Association Agreement and serves as a forum for cooperation and dialogue on geographical indications between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova. Thus, the participants in the 9th meeting reviewed the latest developments recorded in the geographical indications system in the European Union and the Republic of Moldova since the last meeting that took place in November 2022, the discussions being focused on the implementation of the section on geographical indications in the Association Agreement.

We mention that, currently, eight geographical indications from the Republic of Moldova (“Romanesti”, “Ciumai”, “Divin”, “Codru”, “Valul lui Traian”, “Stefan Voda”, “Nimoreni Apricot Brandy” and “Calarasi Rose Petal Jam”) are protected in the European Union based on the Association Agreement, and eight other geographical indications protected in the Republic of Moldova have been notified to be granted protection in the EU.