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Croatian foreign minister says EU court corrected teran wine injustice from 2013

ZAGREB, Sept 9 (Hina) – Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman has said the EU General Court’s decision on the teran wine “corrected the injustice from 2013,” while Agriculture Minister Marija Vuckovic is sure it will not hurt relations with Slovenia and that the two neighbours will properly share the use of the label.

The General Court of the EU on Wednesday rejected Slovenia’s lawsuit against the European Commission in which it asked that a decision under which Croatian winemakers could use the name teran be quashed.

“The right of Croatian winemakers has been confirmed, correcting the injustice from 2013 after Croatia entered the EU,” Grlic Radman told the press. “Croatian winemakers can certainly be satisfied. Croatia protects its national interests.”

Vuckovic told reporters the court decision “confirms both the will and the activities of Croatia and all stakeholders at the local, regional and national levels which began in 2013.”

“We will continue to have good relations with neighbouring Slovenia and think that we will properly share the use of this label,” she said.

The label “teran” is used both in Slovenia and Croatia. After Slovenia joined the EU, the name was used on labels of some Slovenian wines, first as a traditional name for wine produced in the Karst region, then as a protected designation of origin, it was said.

The court said that the European Commission had authorised Croatian winemakers from Istria to use, despite Slovenia’s opposition, the label “Hrvatska Istra – teran” (Croatian Istria – Teran) for their traditional wine which they call the teran wine, and Slovenia had filed a lawsuit so that the delegated act would be revoked as Slovenia had the exclusive right to teran.

Following unsuccessful negotiations between Croatia and Slovenia to resolve the issue, the European Commission adopted the delegated act in mid-2017, specifying the conditions under which Croatian wine produced in Istria from the Teran grape variety can be sold under the label “Hrvatska Istra – teran”, provided that the name of the wine on the label is written in smaller letters.

Now that the lawsuit has been rejected, Slovenia has the right to file an appeal, but it is not known whether it will do so, Slovenian media said.

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