Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-03-09-Speech-2-030"
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"en.20040309.3.2-030"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would first like to very warmly thank the rapporteur, Mrs Fourtou, for her excellent work. I am sure that it was really not easy to reach agreement on this complex dossier not only between the groups but also with the Council and the Commission. The text now before us, which is to be voted on tomorrow, is a good compromise that we should all accept.
We are all familiar with fake, cheap Rolex watches, Lacoste shirts, with the cheap imitation Levi Strauss jeans, Louis Vuitton bags, and many other products besides. Music and films on CD and DVD are being pirated. When you see everything available on the market, you might well think that product piracy is a trifling offence. But it is not, ladies and gentlemen, far from it: counterfeiting and product piracy certainly are not minor offences. They cause losses running to millions in Europe every year and they are consequently a threat to our economy and above all to jobs in Europe.
The object of the directive is to create uniform ground rules for combating product piracy. On the eve of EU enlargement, it gives the right signal at the right time. What is the directive intended to achieve? It is of course intended to have a deterrent effect on product pirates and counterfeiters. The directive provides a process-based framework here. It does not actually introduce anything new, but it attempts to provide a new framework in terms of process, so that we can take action against product pirates across Europe in accordance with uniform rules.
What should the directive not be allowed to do? It should not of course be allowed to criminalise or stigmatise young people who occasionally download some music from the Internet, but the directive has also made provision for this. The criminal penalties originally included in the draft have been taken out again – also thanks to the pressure exerted by our rapporteur – and the directive stipulates that sanctions should only be applicable in a fair and proportionate manner. There are provisions that go beyond these mechanisms in order to prevent young people from being criminalised. The directive makes this clear and it will not come to that.
One point that Mrs Fourtou also mentioned, and with which I agree, is that the directive should not of course create any barriers to competition. It is not acceptable for competitors to be kept out of the market by relying on alleged infringement of copyright. A recital has been specially included in the directive to the effect that this should not be the aim of the directive.
The directive, including the amendments we are to vote on tomorrow and which I hope will be accepted, provides a good, fair compromise between the interests of all the parties involved, and I urge you to support the line taken by the rapporteur."@en1
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