ߣߣÊÓƵ

Brussels, 28 th February 2003

Mr Bolkestein will present the Commission's recently adopted proposal ( and ). The objectives of the proposal are to harmonise national laws on the means of enforcing intellectual property rights and to establish a general framework for the exchange of information between the responsible national authorities.

The proposed Directive would ensure a level playing field for rights holders in the EU, reinforce measures against offenders and thus act as a deterrent to those engaged in counterfeiting and piracy. The proposal complements a recently adopted proposal to improve the existing Regulation on seizures by customs of counterfeit goods entering the EU from third countries ( ) .

Extracted from DN: Date: 28/02/2003