Public consultation on the Public objections process on EU Geographical Indications has now closed.
A summary of submissions received during the public objections process is available below.
No further submissions are able to be accepted.
What happens next
The Australian Government is considering all submissions for each term against the grounds for objection that were lodged through this process. This will be used to help inform the Australian Government’s negotiations on the protection of EU wine GIs under the Australia-European Community Agreement on Trade in Wine (Wine Agreement).
Once the Wine Agreement negotiations are finalised, the Australian public will be notified of the outcome.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry on winepolicy@aff.gov.au.
Summary of submissions
The Australian Government held a public objections process between 24 March and 21 April 2023 on 55 proposed new and amended European Union (EU) wine geographic indications (GIs).
578 submissions across 12 terms were received. The government is considering all submissions for each GI against the grounds for objection that were lodged.
There was significant and strong engagement, with submissions received from across the general public and the wine industry, including producers, grape growers and industry bodies.
Over 80% of submissions were opposed to the protection of ‘Prosecco’. The majority of these submissions were on the ground that it is the name of a grape variety in Australia. The Australian Government is aware of strong industry and community concern about the precedent that could be set for other grape varieties if usage of a grape variety name was prohibited due to GI protection. Prosecco is a grape variety used by the Australian wine industry and Australia’s position remains that we should continue to respect the terms of the existing Wine Agreement, which includes continued use of grape variety names.
The submissions will inform the Australian Government’s negotiating positions on the protection of EU wine GIs as part of the negotiations on the Australia-European Community Agreement on Trade in Wine (Wine Agreement). The government will respect any existing trade mark rights.
Once the negotiations on the Wine Agreement amendments have been finalised, the Australian public will be notified of the outcome of the objections process and the text of the Wine Agreement will be published as per usual practice.