Brno - The Czech Republic is going to fight for Edam, the Nr. 1 cheese of the country in terms of the production quantity.
Czech authorities raised objections against the Netherlands´s effort to have a Holland Edam trademark registered.
The good news for Czech Edam producers is that their country is not alone in the battle. Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Denmark, Sweden and Finland are in the same boat as well.
The objection was prepared by the Czech-Moravian Dairy Industry Union, Federation of the Food and Drink Industries and Madeta company which is the biggest Czech producer of Edam.
Cheesy business
"Given that 40,000 tons of Edam produced in the Czech Republic every year makes it the most produced Czech cheese, the economic interest on blocking the Netherland's demand is obvious and thanks to the old tradition of the Edam production in our country it is also fully justifiable," member of the European Parliament Jan Březina said.
Czech dairy producers believe that the Dutch are not entitled to having their Edam trademark protected.
"Not specific at all"
"Compared to cheeses of the Edam type produced in other EU countries, it is not specific in any way. The ingredients it is produced from are available practically everywhere, they are not limited to the territory of the Netherlands. Moreover, the technological process of the Edam production is identical in all the EU countries," Březina argues.
The European Commission will call for an agreement between the two sides to be reached in six months. In case no agreement is concluded, the EC will issue a decision that could be reversed only by appealing to the European Court of Justice.
