Prendergast calls for protection for artisan heritage
Labour MEP Phil Prendergast has called on Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Antonio Tajani, to extend the protection of EU geographical denominations to manufactured products that exploit the artisan heritage of local communities.
Addressing the Commissioner during a plenary debate in Strasbourg, on the recovery of European industry, Ms. Prendergast said: “The European Union already grants legal protection to agricultural products and traditional foodstuffs originating from specific geographic areas, and I would like to propose that we extend that protection to manufactured goods that exploit a geographic area as a brand.
“A good example of this is ‘Waterford Crystal’, a household name for exceptional craftsmanship and artisan quality both in Ireland and abroad.
“After the traumatic closure of the Waterford Crystal factory in 2009 and the loss of 600 jobs, the equity firm that acquired the company relocated the bulk of production abroad but still banks on the worldwide renown and prestige owed to generations of skilled Waterford Crystal workers over centuries.
“Surely, we can balance the interests of workers, communities and that of companies that wish to invest in, and profit from, that heritage, through a system of geographical denomination for certain manufactured goods?
“To me, it is crystal clear that the time has come for the EU to extend the denomination of origin to more categories of artisan and traditional products. Companies are free to manufacture goods, but not to exploit our heritage at the expense of its custodians, the workers and local communities such as Waterford.”
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Sunday 26 May 2013
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