The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has confirmed that the use of national origin labels promoting the sale of local foodstuffs are illegal under European Union (EU) fair trade rules.
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Ruling against a ‘Walloon Label of Quality’ available in Belgium’s French-speaking region, the court backed the European Commission in saying that “requirements giving entitlement to a designation of quality should refer exclusively to the intrinsic characteristics of the product, excluding any reference to its geographical origin.”
Indeed, via “conditions for obtaining the label (including) a requirement for processing or manufacture in Wallonie” this food product label broke Article 28 EC of the Treaty on European Union.
