Vice President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas was livid over the decision of the European Intellectual Property Office to register the “turkaegean” trademark, something that in Athens provoked an official inquiry ordered by a furious Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis.
On the issue of the registration of the “Turkaeagean” trademark, the Vice-President of the Commission calls on Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton to take immediate action to rectify the matter, drawing attention to the serious implications of the recent EUIPO decision to register “Turkaegean” as an EU trademark.
What Schinas said in his letter
In particular, in a letter to Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, Mr. Schinas expressed his “most intense” disappointment that “EUIPO internal controls and procedures identifying and reporting a case with obvious and potentially serious implications for the EU’s external relations, for the sovereign rights of an EU Member State – Greece – but also for the protection of consumers and the EU tourism sector.”
In addition, Mr. Schinas notes that, although aware that this service “enjoys legal, administrative and financial autonomy and that the current legal framework does not require prior consultation with the European Commission on individual trademark applications”, he remains “convinced that in this case there was a clear failure at administrative level to adequately assess the political and legal dimensions of such a decision “.
Finally, he stressed that it must be ensured that “in the future such decisions with a potential impact on our strategic interests will not be taken without political consultation,” but also that the EUIPO administration will address any shortcomings without delay.
