The 'Prosecco War' between Italy and Croatia has stepped up a gear after the European Commission published an application for EU-protected label status for the Croatian Prošek wine. Italy's Prosecco producers claim that Prošek's similar-sounding name could confuse consumers and would risk weakening the image of the sparkling Italian drink.

The Italian agriculture minister Stefano Patuanelli has now waded into the debate, establishing a technical group to fight any decision by Brussels to classify Prošek as a recognised protected label (PDO).