H.E. Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter (South Africa)

European Union

10 FOLLOW-UP TO THE EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT

193.   The European Union would like to thank the WTO Secretariat for the organisation of the 2021 Workshop on the Implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement, which provided LDCs and developed country Members the opportunity to exchange views and deepen their dialogue on technology transfer. The EU also gave an overview of the incentives and the related technology transfer programmes in the area of public health that the EU implemented during the reporting period. 194.   The EU and its Members take their commitment under TRIPS Article 66.2 very seriously and annually provide a detailed update on their respective technology transfer programmes. The EU and its Members provided proof of having promptly and attentively reacted to natural, social, health, climate and economic changes by implementing projects specifically tailored to the current needs of LDCs and their regional organisations. 195.   In total, the EU and its Members implemented 117 technology transfer projects during the reporting period, out of which 40 was funded by the EU and 77 by the EU Members. We would like to thank Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Finland and Germany for these technology transfer programmes provided to LDCs. 196.   The main funding source for the EU was the Horizon 2020 framework programme (with a total budget of EUR 960 billion). As of 2021, the new funding source will be the Horizon Europe framework programme, which will last until 2027. We gave a detailed overview of the functioning of the framework programme and we are ready to provide further information in case LDCs so request. 197.   The main incentives provided to EU enterprises, companies, universities and research institutes for the purposes of promoting and encouraging technology transfer within the Horizon 2020 and the Horizon Europe framework programmes are the grants and public private partnerships financed by the EU institutions and EU Members. We would like to encourage LDCs to disseminate the information provided at the Workshop about these framework programmes to the interested circles in their countries. 198.   The EU would also like to raise the LDCs' attention to the new programming cycle of the EU's new development programme, which will run between 2021 and 2027. Within this framework, new incentives will be implemented by the EU for the purposes of encouraging technology transfer and of improving the absorptive capacity in LDCs. LDCs input in the formulation of the new activities is always welcome. We encourage LDCs to contact the EU delegations in the respective countries and send them their concrete proposals for new activities. The EU delegations will channel in all these inputs received from LDCs in the formulation of the new activities.

The Council took note of the statements made.

42. The Chair recalled that, at the Council's meeting in October 2000, the Eighteenth Annual Review under Paragraph 2 of the Decision on the Implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement had been on the agenda. At that meeting, delegations had briefly presented the updated reports submitted by developed country Members under Article 66.2. Since that meeting, the Council had received a further submission of an updated report from the delegation of New Zealand. At that meeting, the Council agreed that it would revert to the item at this meeting to permit continued consideration of the submitted material.
43. In July 2020, the LDC Group had circulated a submission entitled "Proposed New Template for Annual Reporting under Article 66.2 of the Agreement on Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights".
44. In order to give LDCs more time to absorb the information provided by developed countries in their reports, and to ensure that these reports were available in the official languages of the WTO, the Secretariat had organized a Workshop on the Implementation of the Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement. Due to the sanitary situation, the Workshop had been held in virtual format on 2, 4 and 5 March 2021. Some of the capital-based delegates who participated in the Workshop would take part in the discussions under this agenda item. She invited the Secretariat to report on the Workshop.
45. A representative of the Secretariat took the floor.
46. The representatives of the United States of America; Australia, the United Kingdom; Switzerland; Canada; Japan; the European Union; Norway; China; Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group; and Mozambique took the floor.
47. The Council took note of the statements made.

IP/C/M/98, IP/C/M/98/Add.1