Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 99: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on whether no extra burdens should be placed on African, Caribbean and Pacific countries in relation to intellectual property rules, for example in the area of medicines, in the current Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations with the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4375/07]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) are trade agreements currently being negotiated between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states.

The mandate for the negotiation of EPAs comes from the legally-binding Cotonou Agreement, the central objective of which is that of "reducing and eventually eradicating poverty, consistent with the objectives of sustainable development and the gradual integration of the ACP countries into the world economy".

Article 46 of the Cotonou Agreement recognises the need to ensure an adequate and effective level of protection of intellectual, industrial and commercial property rights. In this context, it underlines the importance of adherence to the existing Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), to the WTO Agreement and the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD). The question of additional requirements for ACP states in relation to intellectual property rules does not therefore arise, nor would the Government be in favour of any such development.

Ireland is following the EPA negotiations closely and will continue to urge that the negotiations result in agreements that are supportive of ACP countries' development needs and their poverty reduction efforts.