1.A Member State or third country authority or the applicant established in the third country in question may request the conversion of a protected designation of origin into a protected geographical indication if the compliance with the product specification of a protected designation of origin is no longer possible or can no longer be guaranteed.
[F1The application shall be communicated in accordance with Article 70a(1). The date of submission of an application for conversion to the Commission shall be the date on which the application is received by the Commission.]
2.If the request for conversion into a geographical indication does not meet the requirements laid down in Articles 34 and 35 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008, the Commission shall inform the Member State or the third-country authorities or the applicant established in the third country in question of the grounds for refusal, and shall invite him to withdrew or amend the request or submit comments within a period of two months.
3.If the obstacles to the conversion into a geographical indication are not remedied by the Member State or third-country authorities or the applicant established in the third country in question before the time limit expires, the Commission shall reject the request.
4.Any decision to reject the conversion request shall be taken by the Commission on the basis of the documents and information available to it. Such decision on rejection shall be notified to the Member State or the third-country authorities or the applicant established in the third country in question.
5.Articles 40 and 49(1) of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 shall not apply.
Textual Amendments
F1 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 670/2011 of 12 July 2011 amending Regulation (EC) No 607/2009 laying down certain detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 as regards protected designations of origin and geographical indications, traditional terms, labelling and presentation of certain wine sector products.