Croatia must sacrifice Prosek to enter EU

Prosek, which is a famous sweet dessert wine that is traditionally from the southern area of Dalmatia in Croatia made using dried wine grapes, will have to find itself a new name when Croatia enters the European Union, CroatiaWeek reports.

From July 1st the term “Prosek” will no longer be able to be used in Croatia because the EU believe that the word is too similar to the Italian word “Prosecco”. The use of the term Prosek will not be allowed even for the time it would take to sell remaining stocks after July 1st.

During EU accession negotiations Croatia’s Ministry of Agriculture lobbied for the name to remain but the plea was rejected by the European Commission, saying that term was too close to the Italian term Prosecco which is protected in Italy and in the EU.

The Ministry of Agriculture last week informed producers that from July 1st they would not be able to place their product on the market in Croatia or abroad under the label "Prosek."