Minister for Rural Development Sándor Fazekas has already signed the national resolution approving the product descriptions of Hungarian wines, and so the Ministry of Rural Development has submitted them to the European Commission.

The Ministry of Rural Development has previously reported on the fact that the various Hungarian wine-producing regions were asked to present their proposals for product descriptions to the Ministry by May 31 of last year. The representatives of the wine-producing regions submitted the product descriptions of 35 well-known and generally used wine names to the Ministry. Of these, five fall within the category of Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and thirty fall within the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) category.

The reform of the wine market by the European Union through new regulations that came into force on August 1 2009 mean that the rules regarding the geographical descriptions on wine labels became uniform throughout the EU. The wine names used until now have been collected in the European Union's electronic database, the E-Bacchus.

The EU wine reforms are expected to improve the competitiveness of the European wine sector, and to make it work in a more market-like way. It is in the interests of Hungary that the product descriptions be as good as possible, because it is through these that we may protect our traditional wines and highly valuable geographical denominations (such as Tokajm Eger, Hajós-Baja, Villány, Sopron, Somló), keep them on the market and provide for their continued evolution.

According to the new regulations, the wine names in use must be supplemented with a product description that includes information on how the wines are produced. With the help of the product description, it is possible to discover in detail the various regulations and data that correspond to the given wine.

Member States had until December 31 2011 to submit product descriptions to the European Commission. Failure to do so would mean the wines in question losing their protected status and the right to include such information on the label. The Ministry successfully determined the product descriptions with the help of the National Wine Council and the various wine-producing regions.

(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)