i fully agree with your concern in my view counterfeiting is much more than a financial problem
first of all it is a legal issue the violation of intellectual property right
second it is a financial or economic problem as it undermines the revenue of the member states and it also undermines the profit of the manufacturing company of the original products and it can even result in the loss of jobs in our member states
but third and this is my real concern it is a new threat to the safety and to the health and even to the life of our citizens so as you very clearly emphasised it is an issue of consumer protection
when i first got the information that eu customs seized some consignments of medicines pharmaceuticals against cardiovascular diseases and the capsules contained brick powder and yellow paint i was really shocked
so it is much more than a financial or legal issue
it is a problem of the safety of our citizens and we have got to do our best
may i say that i am now more optimistic in april i met my new counterpart the new minister responsible for customs in china
even with my former counterpart i felt some positive changes in the chinese style the way they negotiated
since two thousand and five it has become more and more concrete more and more to the point and china has made some steps
for instance they even changed the legislation concerning combating counterfeiting
but you are right that it is still not working in an optimum manner
that was the reason why we initiated an action programme and i made it very clear to my new partner that what we expect from china is concrete measures and concrete results in the market and i think that he understood the message
one or two more reasons about why i am optimistic first china which is an emerging power which is playing a more and more important role in the world economy and world politics i think simply cannot afford to be related to be judged as the number one source of fake products
second china is more and more a target country
quite recently we heard about chinese fake milk powder which resulted in the death of some chinese children
so they are not only a country of origin but they are also a target country a target of counterfeiters
