Brussels, 28/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 27 January, the committee on legal affairs of the European Parliament gave its approval to the proposed decision (dating from December 2010) authorising reinforced cooperation to create a unitary patent system (EUROPE 10277). The rapporteur on this dossier is Klaus-Heiner Lehne.
Twelve countries of the EU (Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom, Slovenia and Sweden) are behind this request for reinforced cooperation, as it proved impossible to agree on this issue at the Council. The European Parliament will vote on Lehne's report at the February plenary in Strasbourg, and the Competitiveness Council will examine the proposal in March. Although reinforced cooperation has the blessing of the Parliament and the Council, the Commission will present two proposals: one on the language regime (consultation procedure) and the other establishing the unitary patent (co-decision procedure). The committee on legal affairs calls on the Council to use the co-decision procedure for both proposals. (L.C./transl.fl)