Friday

29th Mar 2024

Court battle looms over name of Champagne

The 657 inhabitants of the Swiss village of Champagne in the Jura mountains have been making white wine for at least 1,000 years and naming it after their village. They might have to stop that if one particular clause in the Swiss-EU Agreement stands, reported the Daily Telegraph.

The French wine-making empire wants them to change the name because, they say haughtily, it trades off the name of French champagne, which has been made only since the seventeenth century. So far the French Government and various French manufacturers have won most battles over the naming of food and wine but the Swiss are determined that their 280,000 bottle a year will carry the name they have always done with no confusion in any customer's mind. About 40 people of the village have gone to the European Court of Justice, asking to have the relevant section of the Agreement omitted. The fight is led by Albert Banderet, a formen mayor and has been likened to the never-ending fight waged by Asterix the Gaul and his village against the might of the Roman Empire.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The French are worried as is the EU. If the uppity Swiss win, it will be the first case of individuals from a non-EU country altering a fully ratified inter-state agreement.

Opinion

Why EU needs 'product of origin' protection for handcrafts

Europe has Fermo shoes, Como silk, Bohemian crystal, Limoges porcelain, Toledo steel, Donegal tweed, Solingen cutlery - the list goes on. These products and the local artisans who craft them are an essential part of European history and identity.

Opinion

How Europe undervalues the economics of its craft heritage

In 2017, Poterie Renault fired its kilns for the final time, having struggled to make ends meet. Its closure is a drop in the ocean — but also illustrates how Europe fails to realise the economic potential of its heritage.

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us