CJEU case C‑159/20 Commission v Denmark – CJEU Judgment (European Union, 2022)

Undertakings with registered offices in Denmark were exporting cheese to third countries under the Designation “Feta”, “Danish Feta” and “Danish Feta cheese”, even if these products do not comply with the product specification for the PDO “Feta”. After a complaint by Greek authorities, Danish authorities replied that it was not contrary to EU law, as Reg.1151/2012 only applies to products sold within EU territory and not outside the EU. Thus, Danish authorities claimed to be allowed to use the name ‘Feta’ to designate Danish cheese exported to third countries where that name is not protected. The question that the CJEU needed to answer was whether the Kingdom of Denmark has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 13 of Regulation No 1151/2012 and has infringed the principle of sincere cooperation laid down in Article 4(3) TEU. 1. Violation of Article 13 of Regulation No 1151/2012 The CJEU held that when interpreting [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32012R1151 Article 13(3) Reg.1151/2012], one must consider its wording and also the context in which it occurs and the objectives pursued by the rules of which it is part ([https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=252150&pageIndex=0&doclang=EN&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=24294986 C-569/20 Spetsializirana prokuratura]). Concerning the wording of [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32012R1151 Article 13(3) Reg.1151/2012], the term “any use” includes the use of a registered name to designate products not covered by the registration which are produced in the EU and intended for export to third countries is not excluded from that prohibition. Concerning the context where this provision was adopted, two elements seem to be decisive. First, the fact that the regulation was adopted based on [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:12008E118:EN:HTML Article 118(1) TFEU], which empowers the European Parliament and th