EU court adviser accuses Denmark of abusing the name “Feta” in cheese exports

FILE PHOTO: A cheesemonger places pieces of Greece’s trademark feta cheese in a bag for a customer in central Athens November 21, 2007. REUTERS/John Kolesidis/File Photo

March 17, 2022

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Denmark has broken European Union law by failing to prevent local companies from making white cheese labeled ‘Feta’ and exporting it outside the EU, an adviser to Europe’s top court said on Thursday.

Advocate General Tamara Capeta’s opinion at the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) came three years after the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, sued Denmark over the matter.

“Feta” has been a registered Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in the EU since 2002 and can only be produced in Greece according to a set of production specifications.

Greece says feta is its cultural heritage because it has been making sheep and goat milk cheese for 6,000 years.

“By not preventing Danish producers from using the registered name ‘Feta’ for cheese intended for export to third countries, Denmark has failed in its obligations under EU law,” Capeta said.

It rejected Denmark’s argument that an export ban could be considered a barrier to trade.

“The main idea behind this regulation is to improve the situation of EU agricultural producers by protecting intellectual property for products that involve traditional production methods,” said Capeta.

The ECJ, which will decide in the coming months, follows such non-binding recommendations in four out of five cases.

The case is C-159/20 Commission v Denmark.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Mark Heinrich)