On 26 September 2008, the EU Competitiveness Council adopted the resolution for a European anti-counterfeiting plan which was submitted by the French Presidency. This plan proposes the creation of an "European observatory on Counterfeiting", whose mission would consist in gathering information, organizing communication campaigns and cooperating with other countries. This observatory would meet twice a year.

The Commission approved this move in a Press release (26 September 2008):

Commission welcomes Council support for plans to combat counterfeiting and piracy more effectively This Resolution adds momentum to existing Commission plans to step up the fight against counterfeiting and piracy.

The EU anti-counterfeiting plan focuses on measures aimed at facilitating stakeholder dialogues and voluntary inter-industry agreements to tackle the most imminent problems, improving coordination between Member States, and helping to build key partnerships between enforcers and industry to develop information sharing and analysis.

The political signal given today by the Council supports the Commission's ambition to build on a robust legal framework by demonstrating a more practical and "zero-tolerance" approach to counterfeiting.