European business organizations from seven Asian countries including Korea, have urged governments in the region to make efforts to harmonize IPR laws and coordinate enforcement activities. At the end of the two-day 'East Asia Regional Meeting on Counterfeiting and Piracy', representatives from the EU chambers of commerce in Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand signed a joint declaration, outlining their collective action plan. Meeting under the aegis of the European Business Organizations (EBO) -- a network created between representatives of EU business associations in non-EU countries and specific interest groups from the European Commission -- they stated that it is necessary for governments to comply with and enact the minimum standards of enforcement as stated in the TRIPS agreement. The EBOs also recognized that harmonization without coordination of government enforcement activities at the regional and national levels will only lead to wasted resources and mounting frustration for both governments and trademark owners. "EBOs recommend that East Asian countries make more efforts on building more regional based programs and allocate resources to fight the scourge of counterfeits and piracy," the declaration states. The measures include steps to improve the efficiency of government programs by coordinating public agency actions; manage a database on and promote information exchange on counterfeit criminals; develop information and educational campaigns targeted at consumers; and assist industry in understanding the laws and procedures. The EBOs also agreed to establish a cooperation network in the East Asian region, expand the scope of available information of enforcement, share information, and assess the counterfeit and piracy situation among players within the cooperation network. "The financing, manufacturing, shipping, distribution and sales of counterfeit and pirated goods is already a global issue, but many of the problems are based here in this region and require rights holders and governments to work across national borders if effective action is to be taken," the declaration states.