Brussels, 20/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - In a report presented on Tuesday 20 October, the NGOs Oxfam International and Health Action International Europe have accused the EU of contravening international trade rules, by favouring the interests of the large pharmaceutical groups over those of 2 billion people without access to essential medicines. The two associations announced that Brazil and India are to bring a complaint against the EU before the WTO, after the Netherlands blocked the delivery, via Europe, of generic medicines originating from India and destined for Brazil, Colombia and Nigeria. The two NGOs also criticised the fact that since the end of 2008, Germany and the Netherlands have seized 19 cargoes of generic medicines destined for developing countries, even though it is legally permissible for these medicines to transit via Europe under WTO rules. Oxfam and Health Action thus denounce what they describe as the "two weights, two measures" medicines policy of the EU, the majority of the member states of which attempt, they claim, to reduce the prices of medicines on the internal market whilst increasing the pressure on the governments of the developing countries to give up their rights to obtain generic medicines at affordable prices. The EU is also accused of trying to include stricter rules on intellectual property in bilateral free-trade agreements, going beyond existing WTO agreements on trade-related intellectual property issues (TRIPS), which were originally designed to facilitate the access of poorer countries to generic versions of patented medicines at lower prices. These accusations were rejected by the European Commission, which defended these cargo seizures as part of the fight against counterfeiting. (E.H./transl.fl)