After six years of political limbo, Cyprus’ traditional cheese halloumi is on the home straight of an arduous race to be registered as an EU product of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Agriculture Minister Costas Kadis said.
He hopes Cyprus’ long-standing goal of protecting its biggest export can be achieved within weeks.
Kadis said Nicosia is now in the final stage of the registration process after a period of hard work and intense consultations.
What remains is the approval of the legal texts proposed by the competent EU Committees in which the member states participate and then by the College of Commissioners.
There are currently two legal texts.
One concerns the registration of halloumi as a PDO and another the European Commission’s decision on the phytosanitary inspections to be carried out in Cyprus’ occupied territories and crossing the Green Line.
After the competent EU committee looked at the second issue on Tuesday, there were no objections, while the member-states will vote on the product registration as PDO on 26 March.
The decisions will need to be ratified by the College of Commissioners for the registration to be completed.
“If everything goes smoothly, Cyprus would soon achieve the registration. We are in the last step of the registration process,” said Kadis.
Complete satisfaction
Kadis said Cyprus had successfully brought together the three competent EU Commissioners (Agriculture, Health, Cohesion and Reform) to help resolve the stalemate.
All of them, Kadis said, looked at the issue from every aspect and submitted a comprehensive proposal to the Republic of Cyprus.
“This proposal addresses the hot issue of phytosanitary controls on products that will be characterized as PDO in the occupied territories of Cyprus, which was the main obstacle in the past.”
Kadis said that the proposal submitted to the Republic of Cyprus is fully in line with EU law. All the checks will be carried out in the Turkish occupied north by an independent body designated and authorized by the government.
These inspections will be carried out for the PDO by the international certification company Bureau Veritas, based on the 2015 agreement between President Anastasiades and then Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci.
He said another international body would check phytosanitary data.
Kadis said that PDO registration is an opportunity for Turkish Cypriots to legally trade halloumi as long as it meets all the specifications.
Registration
The government is already looking into the next day after the registration.
Issues to be discussed is the mechanism to check PDO compliance, the contract with Bureau Veritas and the organization for the phytosanitary inspections in the north, the stockpiles of cheese created by the pandemic.
These issues are being discussed with the European Commission and all stakeholders in Cyprus, said Kadis.
“The registration will bring huge benefits to Cyprus.”
Due to halloumi’s success, it has been under a lot of pressure with five other EU countries, irregularly producing a cheese they also call halloumi.
Cyprus is embroiled in halloumi trade wars, with more than 80 court appeals disputing the trademark.
Kadis argued that some people are already claiming that halloumi is generic and can be produced by anyone, anywhere.
“The registration will stop all this, once and for all.” (source CNA)
