56 WINE LAW defining elements of both systems are similar by going over the registration procedure of names and the transitional provisions provided for existing designations already in force on the system coming into effect (sections 85 to 94). From this, the Court inferred that “the system of protection provided for by Regulation No 1234/2007 [currently 1308/2013] is exhaustive in nature, with the result that that regulation precludes the application of a national system of protection for geographical indications that are protected under that regulation” (section 103). 4.2. Internal Distribution of Powers over Designations of Origin As this is only relevant in political systems with a high degree of devolution, as is Spain’s case, this paper will deal with it briefly. European norms regarding designations of origin, being blanket regulations, do not exhaust, by any means, the scope for regulation. Given that relevant areas concerning design, management, supervision and protection are left for Member States to regulate, there will always be the need for supplementary norms. Besides, the designation of origin, as defined by European law, is confined to agri-food, which allows the Member States to engage in regulatory exercises in other areas. Within this framework and in regions to which legislative power has been devolved, the power to approve the supplementary norms is devised through the internal rules for the division of powers. In Spain, the power division between the State and the Autonomous Regions in what concerns geographical designations has led to the former waiving its right to pass a law that would be enforceable nationally and contented itself, rather, with a legal framework (in reality, there are more than one, once in the regulation stage) applicable to cross-region geographical designations. Incidentally, the consequence of this for Spanish law is that, given the lack of European regulations or the explicit referral to domestic ones, the regulation of core elements of designations will be, fully and unjustifiably, at the discretion of autonomous regions. 5. THE SCOPE OF DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN WITHIN THE AGRI-FOOD SECTOR The scope of designations of origin and geographical indications is rigorously defined their regulations, from the very title, as in the current Regulation No 1151/2012. The status of wine, despite it being the product that pioneered this
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