BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Germany will not have to remove the name "Parmesan" from cheeses on sale that are not made in Italy's Parma region, Europe's highest court said on Tuesday.
In a blow dealt to Italy and the European Commission, whichfiled the lawsuit against Germany, the European Court ofJustice (ECJ) said the Commission had failed to show adequatelywhy Germany should take action in such cases.
While the ECJ ruled that only cheeses bearing the EU'sprotected designation of origin, or PDO, of "ParmigianoReggiano" could be sold under the name "Parmesan", it said theresponsibility of monitoring compliance was not down toGermany.
"Since the Commission has not established that the Germanlegal system does not sufficiently protect the PDO "ParmigianoReggiano", the infringement proceedings against Germany aredismissed," the ECJ said in a statement.
Parmesan, a hard crumbly cheese sprinkled on pasta or eatenin chunks with balsamic vinegar, comes from northern Italywhere local cheesemakers have been fighting to protect theirproduct from what they consider lower-quality copies.
The European Commission, supported in its court case by theItalian government, had argued that Germany should not haveallowed non-Italian cheese to be labelled "Parmesan".
But Germany, Europe's second-largest producer of the cheeseafter Italy, said "Parmesan" had become a generic term over thecenturies for grated hard cheese and entirely unrelated to thespecific Italian product made in Italy's Parma region.
(Reporting by Jeremy Smith; Editing by Dale Hudson)
