European Parliament
Raül Romeva i Rueda  (Verts/ALE ),
in writing.
– Against. The biggest criticisms we have: the scope is much too wide; for us it should be limited to real counterfeited trademarks and not cover other IPRs such as patents, plant variety, etc.; it is not up to the customs officials to enforce those rights, it is the responsibility of rights holders to proceed; goods in transit should not be concerned; developing countries have legitimate concerns regarding the interception of goods, in particular medicines, which are in transit and not intended for marketing in the EU: such interceptions interrupt the supply of generic medicines which these countries need; parallel trade should be allowed: it is allowed under the TRIPS agreement and therefore, there must be a derogation for parallel trade, in particular, because it can contribute to lowering the cost of medicines in developing countries.

