"The European recognition of Cretan olive oil and the approval of the file for the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) 'Crete' is a significant success for local production and the Cretan economy," said New Democracy and European People's Party (EPP) MEP Manolis Kefalogiannis in a statement on Thursday.

"From the very beginning," he added, "we closely monitored the progress of the file, and when we noticed unjustified delays in relation to similar cases in other countries, we proceeded with coordinated interventions in the European Commission, requesting the acceleration of the process."

With documented actions and constant political pressure, we managed to accelerate a case of strategic importance for Crete, he underlined.