The officials will propose that the production of Teran be limited to the entire Kras plateau, stretching also to Italy, but not wider in the region, Slovenian Agriculture Ministry State Secretary Tanja Strniša told the STA after the meeting in Trieste last Friday.

The meeting followed the November agreement between ministers Dejan Židan and Maurizio Martino on the extension of the right that is currently held by only Slovenia.

This was in light of the fact that Slovenia's protection of origin is being challenged by Croatia.

The country claims that Teran is a wine native to the entire Istria region, with Croatian as well as Italian wineries entitled to sell it under that name, but Slovenia maintains that conditions specific to the region of Kras mean that the registered wine can only be produced there.

The Slovenian and Italian officials agreed on Friday to propose the cross-border protection of the wine under the Slovenian rules, which were transposed to the EU level in 2004, after the country joined the bloc.

The technicalities should be agreed on in a couple of months, until the next meeting, which is scheduled for March.

In the meantime, the Teran producers from both the Slovenian and Italian sides will launch proceedings for protection of the wine with their national authorities.

Strniša expects the proceedings to be concluded in both countries by the end of the year and then a joint bid submitted with the European Commission.

"We see the entire project as taking cross-border cooperation to a new level. In particular, it could be seen as an example on how two neighbouring countries should cooperate to benefit the people on both sides of the border," the state secretary added.