IFPI Comment on the European Commission's Progress Report on the EU Accession Process of Bulgaria and Romania

Frances Moore, IFPI Regional Director for Europe, said:

"We have long been pressing the European Commission to ensure that blatant shortcomings in intellectual property enforcement in Bulgaria and Romania are dealt with as a condition for EU Accession. We are therefore heartened that the EU has taken these concerns on board as an important part of the accession assessment process.

"Bulgaria, where CD and DVD plants are still found producing illegal discs, has just adopted a relatively weak optical disc law which needs to be urgently improved. There is also a need to improve its copyright law in key areas such as the protection technological measures used to protect music.

"Romania's current copyright law amendment process is under close scrutiny as there is a clear tendency to try and undermine the position of the copyright sector.

"Both countries face heavy cross-border trade in pirated materials, while their customs are not yet up to the task of defending what is supposed to become the EU's external border."