BRUSSELS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) member states agreed Friday on a comprehensive plan to step up the fight against counterfeiting and piracy.

    "We have to stamp out counterfeiting. It is harming our innovative industries, our economic growth and job creation," said EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy.

    McCreevy said the spiraling volume of counterfeit goods entering the EU market is striking at the very heart of the continent's manufacturing industry, undermining the future development of companies that produce tried and trusted brands.

    According to figures from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), international trade in counterfeit and pirated goods is estimated to have reached 200 billion U.S. dollars in 2005. The amount is higher than the individual gross domestic product of about 150 economies in the world, including 24 of the EU member states.

    In 2006, EU customs officials intercepted more than 128 million counterfeited and pirated articles, involving 37,334 cases, a jump of 70 percent compared to 2005.

    The EU anti-counterfeit plan focuses on measures aimed at facilitating stakeholder dialogue 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 European Commission, which drafted the plan, said its approval was a political signal given by the EU member states to build a robust legal framework by demonstrating a more practical and "zero-tolerance" approach to counterfeiting.