Radio Slovakia International

Minister Simon Warns Slovakia Might Lose the Tokaj Wine Brand Name

RSI

Slovakia might lose the right to use the wine brand “Tokaj”. The Republic of Hungary is suing the European Commission and demands that it cancels the registration of the protected geographical identification of “Tokaj Wine Region” allowed for Slovakia. The Minister of Agriculture, Environment, and Regional Development, Zsolt Simon, said that the reason behind the lawsuit is the fact that at the time the geographical identification was registered in February of this year, the Slovak legislation was not in accordance with what the European Commission performed. Mr. Simon stated that the situation is the result of a lack of professionalism by his predecessors at the ministry.