The EU has presented a proposal to the WTO concerning access to medicines for developing countries that do not have the capacity to produce them themselves.
On 5 March 2002, the WTO Council on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) met in Geneva. The EU presented its proposal as to how the patent agreement should be modified to support countries that cannot themselves produce the drugs. The EU suggests amendments to Articles 30 and 31f of the TRIPS agreement, to allow for medicines to be produced elsewhere and exported under “compulsory licensing” to the country in need. The export would need to be strictly controlled to ensure that the drugs do not reach other markets.