Bart Vermeersch via flickr.com
France requires that the names "champagne" and "cognac" be changed, as these are the names of geographical locations on its territory.
Ukrainian winemakers say they are ready to stop using the names "champagne" and "cognac" on their industrial products in line with the provisions of the agreement on the free trade area (FTA) between Ukraine and the European Union related to the replacement of product names.
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"Ukrainian winemakers are ready to meet all the requirements stipulated in the [EU-Ukraine] Association Agreement, and to switch to new names for their produce after the end of the transition period," General Director of the Ukrainian Ukrvynprom Corporation on winegrowing and wine industry Volodymyr Kucherenko said at a press conference on October 22, as reported by the Ekonomichna Pravda online newspaper.
As was earlier reported, France requires that the names "champagne" and "cognac" be changed, as these are the names of geographical locations on its territory, that is the province of Champagne and the city of Cognac. Thus, "champagne" may be called "sparkling wine," while "cognac" may become "brandy," or they can get other names.
Despite a possible decrease in winemakers' revenue during the transition period, Ukrainian producers are ready to meet the requirement, Kucherenko said.
The European Business Association earlier reported that the amount of counterfeit alcohol in Ukraine had almost doubled in comparison with the past year.