By CONSTANT BRAND
The Associated Press
Wednesday, April 26, 2006; 1:59 PM

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Commission on Wednesday proposed minimum four-year jail terms for certain counterfeiters as part of a beefed-up European Union law to fight piracy.

The proposal was a first for the EU head office, after a court ruled last year the commission has the right to draft criminal penalties to enforce EU policies.

The move is likely to face opposition, with many EU governments opposed to allowing the EU's executive the right to impose jail sentences, which has traditionally been the exclusive right of national governments.

EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini said he decided to pursue criminal sanctions due to the seriousness and rise in the sale of fake goods across the 25-nation bloc and the increased involvement of mafia and crime groups in the distribution of pirated goods.

"We decided that counterfeiting is a real crime against industry, constituting a growing business for organized crime and is a real threat for consumers," Frattini said. "Our proposal aims to eradicate safe havens for the criminal organizations on counterfeiting and piracy."

The EU legislation, which needs the majority backing of EU governments, calls for the minimum four-year jail sentence "where the infringement is committed under the aegis of a criminal organization or carries a serious risk to the health and safety of individuals." It also recommends minimum EU-wide fines.

Frattini said the EU continues to struggle to curb the illegal imports of goods like pirated CDs, DVDs, drugs and even fake Ferrari cars, all made in China, which he said pose dangers to consumers and to legitimate businesses.

Frattini said the tough plans would also target the illegal downloading of music from the Internet, which he said was no less a crime than peddling other fake goods. "Property rights have to be protected, regardless of the area," Frattini said.

Trade in counterfeit goods is a fast-growing problem around the world. The commission has said it accounted for up to 9 percent of global trade, depriving legitimate manufacturers of up to 300 billion euros ($350 billion) a year.

Officials said while most, if not all. EU governments already have criminal sanctions on their national lawbooks, the new EU proposal would help set new minimum sentences to act as a better deterrent against piracy.

Frattini said he was reviewing all EU policy areas to see whether to add criminal-sanctions enforcement to them, but said the commission was not looking to make a power-grab in a sensitive battle over sovereignty.

Officials said jail terms could be added to existing EU rules on fighting pollution on the high seas in the coming months.