European Commission Daily News 10th Feb

EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Commission proposes to extend provisional application

The Commission has adopted a proposal for a Council Decision regarding the extension until 30 April 2021 of the provisional application of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and the Agreement concerning security procedures for exchanging and protecting classified information. The TCA foresees its time-limited provisional application until end of February, unless a later date is agreed by the Parties. This is a technical extension to allow the time needed for the completion of the legal-linguistic revision of the Agreement in all 24 languages for its scrutiny by the European Parliament and the Council. In order to change the end date of the provisional application, a decision needs to be taken jointly in the EU-UK Partnership Council, the governance body established by the TCA, where  the EU is represented by Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič. 

Agriculture: Commission approves three new geographical indications for Cyprus and Croatia

The European Commission has approved the application for the entry of the “Λουκάνικο Πιτσιλιάς” (Loukaniko Pitsilias) and the “Λούντζα Πιτσιλιάς” (Lountza Pitsilias) of Cyprus in the Register of Protected Geographical Indications of Croatia (PGI) Register of Protected Designations of Origin (PDO). “Λουκάνικο Πιτσιλιάς” (Loukaniko Pitsilias) is a pork product, aged, smoked, and marinated in wine, from the Pitsilia region. “Λούντζα Πιτσιλιάς” (Lountza Pitsilias) is a refined product made from dried meat, brine, smoked and marinated in wine, prepared from pork tenderloin. Salting operations, marinating in wine, adding spices and kneading meat are important steps in the manufacturing process to ensure that the sausages are prepared from the same mixture and have the same qualitative characteristics. Production know-how has remained unchanged and has been passed down from generation to generation; it is still used today in the modern facilities of producers in the Pitsilia region. “Ponikve” is an appellation of white, rosé and red wines produced on the Pelješac peninsula in southern Croatia. The vineyards are mainly located on slopes, with varying degrees of inclination and sun exposure. The typical characteristics and quality of the wines from the Ponikve region are the result of a favorable Mediterranean climate and the specific nature of the brown soils and terra rossa, giving the wines one of the fruity aromas. These new appellations will join 1510 food products and 1616 already protected wines, the list of which is available in the eAmbrosia database. For more information, see also the quality policy pages.

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