EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/89

(2004/C 78 E/0087)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2194/03

by Michael Cashman (PSE) to the Commission

(26 June 2003)

Subject: Counterfeiting and piracy

In January 2003, the Commission held a Forum on the prevention and combating of counterfeiting and piracy. What action is the Commission now planning with a view to enhancing cooperation under the third pillar in order to counter the illegal smuggling of goods liable to excise duty?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(29 July 2003)

Intellectual property violations such as counterfeiting and product piracy pose a major challenge in the fight against organised crime. They affect a broad variety of sectors. Counterfeiting and piracy are an international phenomenon which must be tackled as such.

On 30 January 2003 the Commission organised a meeting on the fight against piracy and counterfeiting in the context of the Forum on Organised Crime Prevention.

The meeting was attended by about a hundred experts and provided the opportunity for a constructive dialogue between representatives of business, national judicial authorities, the police, customs, and European and international organisations.

The conclusions of this meeting included:

— the acknowledgement of the importance of harmonising criminal legislation in the Union as regards counterfeiting and improving police and judicial cooperation, in particular where organised crime is involved, as well as the need for penal sanctions to be proportionate and dissuasive;

— the need for provisions regarding the confiscation of the proceeds of crime;

— the recognition that legislation to improve police and judicial co-operation in the Union should be fully applied in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy, in particular where offences are committed in connection with organised crime, and that the principle of mutual recognition of judgements in criminal matters should be applied as widely as possible to such offences;

— the acknowledgement that Member States should ensure that there is good co-ordination between the various services responsible for the fight against counterfeiting, for example by establishing national specialist centralised services staffed by both police and customs officers;

— that public-private partnerships should be established to help prevent counterfeiting and piracy and that training programmes for judicial authorities and enforcement services should be intensified.

As a follow-up to the Forum meeting on 30 January 2003, the Commission is working on a text to approximate penal sanctions at Union level and to improve cross-border cooperation between responsible authorities in the Member States.

This instrument will provide third pillar measures which are complementary to the proposal for a directive concerning the means of enforcing respect for intellectual property rights (1).

The Commission is also organising further meetings in order to enhance the fight against counterfeiting and product piracy and to maintain close working relations with Europol which has created a new working group in this field.

Concerning illegal smuggling of excised goods, such as cigarettes, a new procedure of exchange of information has entered into force between the world customs organisation (WCO) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) on 1 July 2003 and will be in application as from 1 September 2003.

(1) COM(2003)46 final.