All stakeholders in the halloumi issue have today reached a decision on how to proceed to secure the delicacy’s trademark.
The consensus was reached during a meeting at the Presidential Palace, chaired by President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades, in the presence of the Ministers of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Commerce and all stakeholders involved.
In his remarks after the meeting, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Costas Kadis said that all aspects of the halloumi issue were discussed at the meeting, while the President of the Republic informed the ministers on the latest developments on the registration of the “halloumi” trademark in the UK Intellectual Property Office and efforts to register halloumi as an EU Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).
He said after a constructive discussion to find a common way forward, they came up with the steps to be followed and to approve the dossier that needs to be submitted at the European Commission.
Kadis said that he would seek a meeting with the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Health in the coming period to discuss all aspects of the dossier already submitted and how to move forward with this process as soon as possible.
Regarding the PDO, he said it was not up to the Cypriot side, but the European Commission and the proposals that were put forward to reach a settlement did not satisfy the Cypriot side. Therefore, he continued, with the new Commission the government will make a new effort because there were different approaches from two different Commission Directorates on this issue.
Responding to a question if the Cypriot side will travel to Brussels with a united front, Kadis said that should be the message. “Of course, there were dissenting views calling for the withdrawal of the dossier, but I think the overwhelming majority of those present endorsed the approach put forward by the President of the Republic”, he said.
“The message conveyed is that we are going to do our best to make a final effort to secure the dossier, in cooperation with all the relevant European Commission services,” he concluded.
