Obtain the data you need to make the most informed decisions by accessing our extensive portfolio of information, analytics, and expertise. Sign in to the product or service center of your choice.
Article: Halloumi GI row erupts as Cyprus blocks ratification of EU-Canada FTA
11 August 2020
The EU's ill-fated free trade agreement with Canada is in
jeopardy once again following a vote by the national parliament of
Cyprus to reject the agreement.
And resolution of the ensuing legislative headache may end up
revolving around one of Cyprus's most celebrated agricultural
products - halloumi cheese.
Lawmakers in Nicosia voted last Friday to reject the Canada-EU
trade agreement (CETA) by 37 votes to 18, casting the final
ratification of the accord into doubt.
The deal has been signed off by both the European Council and
the European Parliament, and CETA has been provisionally in force
since September 2017, but the accord still needs to be legally
ratified by the parliaments of each of the EU's member states.
So far, only 14 member states have completed the ratification
process, with Cyprus being the only country so far to have actively
rejected the deal. The Belgian region of Wallonia initially blocked
the EU's signing of the deal back in 2016 before obtaining
additional safeguards on issues of concern, while a recent CETA
ratification vote only just scraped through the lower house of the
Dutch parliament.
Leverage to gain GI status for halloumi?
Opposition parties within the Cyprus parliament cited a number
of reasons for voting against the deal, one of which was reported
to be the fact that the agreement does not give adequate protection
against non-Cypriot products which use the name halloumi
cheese.
It seems likely that Cyprus is using its veto on CETA
ratification as leverage to push the halloumi issue up the
agri-political agenda. The rubbery dairy speciality is not a
registered Geographical Indication under the EU's system of
protection for regional food names, so the EU has no means of
pushing for halloumi to be added to the 143 EU GIs already
protected in Canada.
Cyprus wants to gain EU protection for halloumi, and submitted a
request for GI status as far back as 2015. But the Commission is
widely understood to be delaying granting approval for the GI until
the Greek and Turkish communities within Cyprus reach a settlement
to enable reunification of the island. This is reflected in the
fact the GI application would cover both the Greek and Turkish
names for the cheese type (Halloumi / Hellim).
The Cypriot government is now expected to try and turn the
tables on the Commission and demand action on approving the
halloumi GI as a quid pro quo for signing off on CETA.
But this in turn would provoke controversy, as halloumi-style
cheeses are now manufactured around the world, and there would be
strong opposition to any attempt by the EU to claim sole rights to
the name for Cyprus. The move would be especially unpopular in
Australia and New Zealand, both of which are currently in the
process of negotiating their own FTAs with the EU.
Ironically, the United States - which is at loggerheads with the
EU over most GI-related issues - is one of the few countries in the
world where 'halloumi' is protected as a "protected Cypriot
product".
CETA tariff concessions at risk
In the meantime, the Cyprus government has said it will submit
the issue to parliament again in the autumn, and it is hopeful of a
more positive vote the second time around.
If the rejection persists, the European Commission would have no
alternative but to launch a procedure to disapply the terms of the
EU-Canada agreement, pending its legal winding-up. But this
disapplication would have to be done by means of a Council vote
which could be blocked by a qualified majority of member
states.
Under the EU-Canada FTA, tariffs on 91% of agri-food products
were removed immediately the deal took effect, with most others
being phased out or reduced. EU cheese exporters are benefiting
from a tariff rate quota for exports to Canada which is
progressively increasing from an initial level of 13,500t per year
to a final 32,000t per year when fully phased-in.