In February 2010, the European Commission amended the entry concerning Slovakia in the registry of designations of origin and geographical indication (the E-Bacchus database) – without informing the Hungarian Government – in such a way that it changed the original "Tokajská/Tokajské/Tokajský vinohradnícka oblasť” indication to „Vinohradnícka oblasť Tokaj”.

Hungary initiated legal proceedings because of this at the European Court of Justice, but the Court rejected the Hungarian case. According to the Court, the legal effect (the designation of origin) stems solely from national law and inclusion in the E-Bacchus database is for information purposes only, meaning it does not create any legal effect and so cannot be contested at the European Union's courts. Hungary lodged an appeal against the ruling of the Court in early 2013, with regard to which the verdict has just been published.

It is important to note that the Court's decision still only regards the entry in the E-Bacchus database, meaning that the procedure only concerns which form of the designation of origin Slovakia may use with regard to Tokaj: "Tokajská/Tokajské/Tokajský vinohradnícka oblasť” or „Vinohradnícka oblasť Tokaj”. Accordingly, the case was not aimed at deciding whether Slovakia has the right to use the Tokay designation of origin and this was not Hungary's objective when it took legal action.

The new ruling determines the preservation of the status quo with regard to the designations of origin of Tokaj wine between Slovakia and Hungary.

The European Commission may review these documents with regard to their conformance to EU law until 31 December 2014, meaning that any further action with regard to the Tokaj issue will be determined by the results of the European Commission's decision regarding the content and formal aspects of the Slovakian and Hungarian product descriptions submitted in 2011.

The Hungarian Government is committed to protecting Tokaj wine and the interests of Tokaj wine producers.

(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)