This Regulation determines the rules and procedures as regards the implementation of the Programme of support for producer groups for the development or amendment of specifications for protected designations of origin, protected geographical indications and traditional specialities guaranteed for agricultural and food products for the year 2025. The principles of implementing the grant award procedure are: a) the principle of equal treatment of all users and all parties involved in exercising rights and fulfilling obligations; b) the principle of prohibiting any discrimination based on perceptions based on sex, gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, political affiliation or belief, or on age, education, disability, property, social or other social affiliation, characteristic or position; c) the principle of transparency implies that all documents that do not violate any of the principles are made available to all interested parties; d) the principle of personal data protection in accordance with the regulations governing the protection of personal data, data confidentiality and data confidentiality protection; e) the principle of proportionality implies that the scope of the action is proportionate to the objective, i.e. the expected outcome; f) the principle of preventing conflicts of interest implies the impartial and objective performance of functions and tasks of all persons involved in the procedure for awarding support or grants, which may be impaired due to the existence of (blood) kinship, family relationships or other emotional community, affiliation to a political party or a specific political or other belief, economic interest or any other common interest with the beneficiary and g) the principle of confidentiality of the grant award procedure implies that persons involved in the grant award procedure shall keep any confidential document and information (written or oral) related to the course of the grant award procedure as secret, using it exclusively in the context and for the purpose of implementing the grant award procedure. Eligible beneficiaries are producer groups, regardless of legal status, which: a) are registered in the territory of the Republic of Croatia; b) have at least half of their members who produce and place on the market the product to which the Product Specification applies, or carry out at least one stage of production of the agricultural or food product to which the Product Specification applies, and are registered in the appropriate registers of food business operators and establishments or other appropriate registers maintained by the competent authorities, and c) they have a decision of the competent body of the group to initiate the procedure for protecting the name of the product with a designation of origin, geographical indication or as a traditional speciality guaranteed or to initiate the procedure for amending the Product Specification for already registered product names. Project eligibility conditions are laid down in article 6.
Croatia · 2025-09-10