September 16, 2020 EU Intellectual Property Network

OAPI enhances its participation in TMclass and joins DesignClass

As of 14 September 2020, the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) has enhanced its participation in TMclass and joined DesignClass.

OAPI will now use and accept the list of terms from the harmonised database of goods and services (HDB) in TMclass as well as the list of terms from the harmonised database of product indications (HDBPI) in DesignClass.

Following OAPI’s decision to use HDB and HDBPI there are now twelve (12) non-EU IP offices in TMclass and eleven (11) in DesignClass, which use and accept terms from these harmonised databases.

The latest addition of OAPI in TMclass brings the total number of participating national and regional IP Offices, including ARIPO, OAPI, WIPO and EUIPO, to 81. As for DesignClass, there are now 38 IP offices in this tool after OAPI has joined.

TMclass offers users the opportunity to search and translate goods and services to and from any of the 44 languages available. In DesignClass you can search and translate product indications in 28 languages.

The adoption of HDB and HDBPI by OAPI are concrete results of the EU funded project called Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) Action for Africa (AfrIPI), which is directed by the European Commission and executed by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

You can find out more at www.tmdn.org and http://euipo.europa.eu/ec2 and http://euipo.europa.eu/designclass   

In the non-binding resolution adopted on Tuesday with 543 votes to 47 and 109 abstentions, in response to a Commission communication, MEPs call for more support to protect, restore and sustainably manage forests, protect biodiversity and carbon sinks, as well as to recognise forests’ productivity and ecosystem services.

Binding targets and effective rules

The Plenary wants binding targets to protect and restore forest ecosystems, especially primary forests, consistent with the EU 2030 biodiversity strategy’s proposals. MEPs call on the Commission to propose due diligence rules for financial institutions that would prevent EU financial entities or banks from being linked directly or indirectly to deforestation, forest degradation or degradation of natural ecosystems, which often causes indigenous residents to be subjected to human rights violations.

Supply chains and trade agreements free from deforestation

The Commission should propose measures to ensure sustainable and deforestation-free supply chains for products and commodities placed on the EU market, with a particular focus on tackling imported deforestation, says the text. Moreover, future trade and investment agreements must contain binding provisions to prevent deforestation, says the draft resolution. Finally, MEPs want the European Green Deal’s external dimension to be strengthened through alliances and partnerships with third countries, to address climate change and biodiversity loss.

Protection of primary forests

Between 1990 and 2016, an area of 1.3 million square kilometres of the world’s forests was lost, with a destructive effect on biodiversity, climate, people, and the economy.

Afforestation, where trees are planted in an area not previously forested, could under certain conditions, help the EU to reach climate neutrality by 2050, the MEPs said. However, newly planted forests cannot replace primary forests, which provide more carbon dioxide storage and more essential habitats than younger and newly planted ones.

State of the European Union debate

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will give her first State of the European Union address at 9.15. She is expected to highlight the impact of the Commission’s work in mitigating the COVID-19 health and economic crisis, and to outline her vision for economic recovery, fighting climate change, and the situation in Europe’s neighbourhood.

Political group leaders will react to her speech, assess the Commission’s work and set out their views on the 2021 priorities. The German Council Presidency will also take the floor.

#SOTEU #StrongerTogetherEU

See separate media advisory for more details.

Watch the debate from 9.15 to 12.30 live on Parliament’s Multimedia Centre and on EbS+

Baptiste CHATAIN
(+32) 498 98 13 37

EuroParlPress

Votes

Results from yesterday evenings’ votes will be announced at 9.00, on, among other things,

• the EU’s role in protecting and restoring the world’s forests. In this resolution, MEPs outline how the EU can contribute to tackling worldwide deforestation and call for domestic policies to be revised to protect European forests.

• the EU-African security cooperation in the Sahel region, West Africa and the Horn of Africa .

The first voting session lasts from 13.00 to 14.15 with results announced at 16.45. During this voting session, MEPs will cast their final vote on, among other things,

• Recovery Plan/Own Resources, paving the way for the EU to borrow €750 billion for the “Next Generation EU” recovery plan. A press conference is scheduled at 14.30 on Wednesday;

• Enhancing the EU Civil Protection capacity so that the EU can better respond to large-scale emergencies such as COVID-19;

• The implementation of the EU Association Agreement with Georgia.

The second voting session lasts from 17.30 to 18.45 with results announced on Thursday morning at 8.30. During this voting session, MEPs will cast their final vote on, among other things,

• Setting up the Just Transition Fund to mitigate the social impact of greening the economy by supporting regions most affected by the energy transition;

• Revised testing rules to ensure that cars respect EU limits on NOx emissions under real driving conditions as of September 2022;

• EU arms export rules: In light of growing arms production in the EU, MEPs are set to call for tighter controls and greater transparency.

I feel personally touched by this dramatic situation. It was important for me to come here and to express our European solidarity.

First of all, I would like to express our solidarity for the migrants, for the people of Lesbos, and for all the aid workers. And we want to support the efforts made by the Greek authorities.

This is a difficult and a very complex situation. But on behalf of the European Union, I would want to say that I refuse to paper over this migration challenge.

This is a common European challenge. By the end of the month, the European Commission intends to put new concrete proposals on the table. And we need to be more committed in order to be more efficient. I am convinced that, of course, we need to make more progress in order to improve our border controls.

We also need to have more partnerships with third countries. We need to make progress to have more convergence in the framework of our asylum policy. We will have difficult debates, but we need to be more efficient.

Je suis ici parce que je refuse que l’Union européenne baisse les yeux face aux défis de la migration.

C’est un défi commun. Tous les États européens doivent être mobilisés. Nous devons soutenir les pays comme la Grèce qui sont en première ligne. Nous devons assumer nos responsabilités. Ce débat est difficile sur le plan politique en Europe, nous le savons, mais c’est la dignité du projet européen d’être rassemblés pour être en mesure de progresser et de relever ce défi.

Je pense que l’on doit continuer à travailler pour améliorer le contrôle de nos frontières. Les frontières de la Grèce sont les frontières de l’Union européenne. Nous devons continuer à progresser pour être engagés sur le plan externe et développer des partenariats avec des pays extérieurs à l’Union européenne. On doit aussi continuer à progresser pour faire progresser plus de convergences, dont nos politiques migratoires.

Enfin, nous devons définir les modalités d’une solidarité effective afin que l’on soit tous mobilisés pour rendre notre approche sur cette question difficile de la migration plus efficace, et cela, conformément aux valeurs qui ont fondé ce projet européen unique dans l’histoire et qui rassemble 450 millions de citoyens européens avec l’ensemble des dirigeants qui conduisent les États membres.

You can watch the plenary debate via EP Live, and EbS+.

Ursula von der Leyen is expected to outline the impact of the Commission’s work in mitigating the COVID-19 sanitary and economic crisis, and to outline her vision for economic recovery, fighting climate change, and the situation in Europe’s neighbourhood.

Political group leaders will assess the Commission’s work and set out their views, as this annual State of the Union debate is a chance for MEPs to scrutinise the work and the plans of the European Commission and help set the future direction for the EU.

Today from 16.00 to 18.00,

Parliament will hold a central live event, where lead MEPs will discuss the European Union’s priorities and react to questions and ideas from citizens. You can follow the live streaming available here.