Brussels, 17/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 17 September, member states' ambassadors to the European Union were called on to put the finishing touches to a resolution on a comprehensive European plan to tackle counterfeiting and piracy brought forward by the French Presidency (see EUROPE 9713). If the final points pending - such as setting up a European counterfeiting and piracy monitoring centre - are settled, European competitiveness ministers will be asked to formally adopt the resolution when they meet on Thursday 25 September.
Two main points are feeding discussions among national delegations. According to a provisional version of the resolution, a copy of which has been obtained by EUROPE, the action plan provides for the European Commission's setting up a European counterfeiting and piracy monitoring centre, setting out how it is to operate and the arrangements necessary for its creation. The centre's role will effectively be to study the extent of the problem. Several member states (Austria, Finland, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden) want reassurance that the monitoring centre will not lead to increased costs. The Swedish delegation was, on Wednesday, preparing to circulate a paper highlighting this position. The French Presidency, then, will have to find a form of words to state that the monitoring centre will not lead to the creation of a new European agency and will be built on the Commission's existing bodies. This position is also to the Commission's satisfaction.
Another point that has to be settled before the Competitiveness Council relates to references made in the resolution to uncompleted work in the area of intellectual property. Some member states, including Austria, Poland and the United Kingdom, are against mention in the text of the interest of having a Community patent and a European judicial system for the settlement of patent disputes and of the draft directive introducing criminal sanctions to ensure compliance with intellectual property rights (IPR). Discussions on the Community patent and European jurisdiction are continuing apace (see EUROPE 9713). The draft directive, brought forward by the Commission in 2005 and adopted on first reading by the EP in April 2007 (see EUROPE 8989 and 9414), has come to a full stop in Council.
Highlighting the need to mobilise all the players involved in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy, the action plan calls on the Commission to: - set up a European monitoring centre; - disseminate, including on the internet, information on counterfeiting and piracy; - develop programmes to raise awareness of the problem among consumers, including the youngest, through the launch of a specific European day and the preparation of information guides. The Commission and member states are called on to: - submit a customs plan to combat counterfeiting and piracy over the period 2009-2012, which promotes exchange of information, takes stock of applicable customs law and considers improvements that can be brought; - put in place a network for the rapid exchange of information on counterfeit and pirated goods and services; - encourage coordination between the institutions involved; - support the development of public-private partnerships to better tackle the problem of sales of counterfeit or pirated goods over the internet; - improve IPR protection at international level, by promoting the inclusion of specific measures in bilateral and multilateral agreements concluded by the EU and by participating actively in negotiations on a plurilateral trade agreement combating counterfeiting and piracy. (M.B./transl.rt)