In April 2021, following a request from the Cypriot authorities, the European Commission registered the name “Χαλλούμι”/”Halloumi”/”Hellim” as a protected designation of origin (PDO).
Halloumi is a Cypriot cheese with a distinctive aroma and taste. It is made from sheep or goat milk, or a mixture thereof, with or without cow’s milk. It has the property of not melting at high temperatures.
Cypriot company Papouis Dairies Ltd, along with other appellants, are seeking the General Court of the European Union to annul Commission Regulation 1 for the registration of the name “Halloumi”/”Hellim” as a PDO.
In its decision, the General Court dismisses the appeal in its entirety.
The General Court finds that the Commission, when assessing whether the registration of a name as a PDO meets the requirements of Union law, is not obliged to verify whether the production method described in the registration application complies with a pre-existing national standard for its production.
In any event, the application for the registration of halloumi does not conflict with the relevant national production standard in this case.
The General Court emphasizes that this standard does not preclude the possibility of the proportion of goat or sheep milk, or their mixture, in this cheese exceeding the proportion of cow’s milk.
Furthermore, the General Court rejects the argument that the Commission failed to ascertain the existence of manifest errors in the description of the link between the quality or characteristics of the contested product and its geographical environment of origin.
Additionally, the General Court dismisses the argument that the Commission did not conduct a proper analysis regarding the market for halloumi production and the situation of the businesses trading this product.
Finally, the General Court points out that although the Commission must determine the consequences of the fact that, following the registration of the name, an act issued by the authorities of the Member State concerned has been annulled by a national court within the framework of the national stage of the registration procedure, such annulment does not entail automatic invalidity of the registration act issued by the Commission.
