Tag: Counterfeiting

Cigarette smuggling and fake designer goods will top the agenda when Europe's Anti-Fraud Commissioner Algirdas Šemeta meets Chinese officials in Shanghai this week. The commissioner told EurActiv the EU has an "enormous problem" with illegal goods entering the European market from China.

Internet sales of counterfeit and pirated goods to European consumers are frustrating attempts to stem illegal trade, a European Commission report said yesterday (22 July).

A key European Parliament committee has backed new measures against the illegal sale of medicines over the Internet.

The European Commission attempted to dispel rumours today (22 March) regarding draconian new anti-counterfeiting laws being negotiated under the global Anti-Counterfeiting and Trade Agreement (ACTA) talks.

The Commission wants member states to give it a mandate to negotiate a new agreement with its major trading partners, aimed at raising the standard of global intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and tackling the rising and increasingly problematic trade in counterfeit goods, it announced on 23 October.

The Parliament has narrowly backed a historical but controversial Directive that would force member states to harmonise their penal codes - for the first time ever - in order to combat counterfeiting and piracy across Europe.

On a four-day trip to China, Trade Commissioner Mandelson urged the Asian giant to take responsibility for the huge impact it is having on world trade and the environment.

The Commission and China have adopted a series of tools to combat counterfeiting and the smuggling of illegal and unsafe products.

The EU and US will today launch a joint action programme aimed at fighting global intellectual property piracy.

According to fresh Commission figures, an estimated ten million fake euro coins are in circulation today and the counterfeit currency is becoming increasingly sophisticated.

The Commission has come up with proposals to combat the increasing number of fake foodstuffs, medicines and household items flooding the EU market.

The EU is seeking to improve the security of travel documents to fight against terrorism and illegal immigration. Proposals are being discussed to include biometric identifiers in documents for third country nationals (visa and residence permits) and EU citizens' passports.

The paper analyses the Commission's initiatives to fight counterfeiting and piracy (C&P) in the European Union.