Roquefort, feta and Parma ham sow discord between Europe and Australia

After five years of negotiations, the controlled designations of origin (AOC), Parma ham, Roquefort cheese or even feta, still sow discord between the European Union and Australia. Canberra on Thursday threatened to pull out of a proposed free trade deal with Brussels because it would not allow its cheese, wine and charcuterie producers to use AOCs. As part of these long ongoing trade negotiations, the European Union has submitted to Australia a list of more than 400 products associated with its territories, which it wishes to protect. These are mainly cheeses, charcuterie or Irish spirits. From Brussels' point of view, only French producers around the Aveyron village of Roquefort should be able to claim the eponymous designation for their sheep's cheese. In the same way, the Dutch must be able to protect the name "gouda", cheese made in the Netherlands. But Canberra refuses to give in to these demands, despite all the advantages of the trade agreement which should allow the two ...