The delegation of the Secretariat of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) had a meeting with representatives of the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI). The parties addressed aspects related to the establishment of the CEFTA regional cooperation framework in the field of intellectual property, including the draft decision proposed for approval by the CEFTA Joint Committee on cooperation in the field of IP rights.
The CEFTA delegation included Mr. Zdravko Ilic, Senior Technical Expert, Ms. Tatiana Pirgari, National Expert and Ms. Aurelia Ieseanu, Junior Technical Expert, CEFTA Subcommittee on Trade in Services.
During the meeting, the Director General of AGEPI, Eugeniu Rusu, positively appreciated the initiative to set up a Subcommittee on IP Rights to operate under the CEFTA umbrella and which will seek to intensify cooperation in the field of IP to facilitate trade and remove barriers to trade between Member States and provide the regional framework for IP.
Eugeniu Rusu reiterated AGEPI’s interest in eventually joining the EU-funded project on intellectual property for CEFTA countries, implemented with the support of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
The opportunity to establish an IPR cooperation framework was discussed at the Workshop on Regional Cooperation of IP Offices of CEFTA Member States, organized by the CEFTA Secretariat in common with EUIPO in Skopje, Northern Macedonia, from 14 to 16 December 2021. The possibility of expanding cooperation between CEFTA States in the field of IP was discussed and an exchange of information, methodologies and best practices designed to strengthen future regional cooperation was held during the event attended by IP offices from CEFTA Member States, including AGEPI representatives.
We should mention that this year the CEFTA presidency is held by the Republic of Moldova.
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The Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) was concluded in 1992 between Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, in the wake of the disappearance of the CAER system, with a view to facilitating trade and intra-regional economic cooperation. At the same time, the agreement was seen from the beginning as a tool to prepare the participating states for accession to the European Union.
At the Prime Ministers Summit in Bucharest of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe of December 19, 2006, the countries participating in the summit signed the Draft Agreement on Amendment and Accession to the Central European Free Trade Agreement, CEFTA 2006, which entered into force in the Republic of Moldova on May 1, 2007.
