III. EU REGULATION NO. 1143 OF 2024 AND PRODUCER GROUPS In EU Regulation No. 1143 of 2024, producers play a decisive role, as the promotion and protection of “PDO” and “PGI” products are entrusted to them. The European Union has focused not so much on individual initiatives as on collective ones, with a view to achieving a greater impact on the promotion and protection of registered products. In fact, Article 32 of the Regulation promotes the formation of groups of companies, regardless of their legal form. These must be voluntary, and every entity has the right to join11. In order to form a group, companies must draw up specifications, apply for registration, take action to protect the geographical indication and prevent or counteract any measures or practices that could damage the reputation or value of the goods12. They must play an active role in improving the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the indication; for example, they must promote collective advertising and marketing actions and carry out analyses of the nutritional and organoleptic profile of food and drink. In particular, Regulation No. 1143 of 2024 emphasises the need to promote their characteristics through tourist services in the geographical area concerned13. By promoting the combination of “PDO” and “PGI” products and tourism, the conditions have been created for the emergence of “PDO tourism”, which aims at attracting visitors to renowned locations with activities that focus on learning about the distinctive and historical - cultural characteristics of the product. In this context, pursuant to Article 34 of Regulation No. 1143 of 2024, groups may, on their own initiative, form associations with the aim of making recommendations to improve the development of policies on geographical indications, with regard to combating fraud and counterfeiting and promoting and disseminating best practices. At the same time, the Regulation emphasises that the associative dimension of business intervention should lead to an intensification of tourism activities that serve to raise awareness and promote the collective interest. 11 See Article 32, first paragraph, lett. c), according to which the activities of the groups must be “democratically organised and controlled by its members”. 12 See Article 32 of EU Regulation No. 1143 of 2024. 13 See Article 32, first paragraph, lett. e), according to which groups may undertake “actions to improve the performance of the geographical indication in terms of environmental, social and economic sustainability, including (ii) the dissemination of information and promotion activities aimed at communicating to consumers the characteristics of the product designated by a geographical indication, including the development of tourism services in the relevant geographical area”. 65 “PDO TOURISM” AND THE ITALIAN SYSTEM
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