[Algemeen] Partij voor de Vrijheid stemt tegen vrijheid.

Do Mrt 11 18:12:37 CET 2010

633 to 13, EU Parliament votes to make ACTA public, and more sensitive
to civil liberties and consumer protection
In a stunning 633 to 13 vote, the EU Parliament voted for a resolution
on ACTA that addresses a wide range of criticisms that civil society
groups have made of the process and substance.

The KEI statement on the EU vote follows:

"The vote in the European Parliament is a powerful move against
secrecy in trade negotiations, and a timely reminder of important
substantive concerns about the agreement. The US Congress needs to
reflect upon the EU vote, and reassess its hands-off attitude toward
the ACTA negotiation. The United States government now stands isolated
as the only real barrier to making this negotiation more open. The
recent leaks of the ACTA text illustrate how willing the negotiators
are to meeting in secret to reshape global norms on intellectual
property policy, without providing balance or safeguards for the
public or for innovators." James Love, Director, KEI

Here are some of the news reports and blogs writing about European
Parliament vote.:

=09=95 Paul Meller, European Parliament Demands Transparency in ACTA Talks
[1], PC World and IDG News Service.
=09=95 Mike Masnick, "From the wow dept: Overwhelming Majority Of EU
Parliament Votes Against ACTA [2], TechDirt.
=09=95 European Parliament Press Release: Anti-counterfeiting agreement:
Parliament must be fully informed [3].
=09=95 Christian Engstr=F6m, Pirate MEP, Epic win for transparency on ACTA
[4].
=09=95 Parliament threatens court action on anti-piracy treaty [5],
EuroActiv.com
=09=95 La Quadrature du Net, European Parliament strongly opposes ACTA's
democratic deficit [6].
An unofficial text of the resolution is here [7].

Just a few highlights follow:

=09=95 Expresses its concern over the lack of a transparent process in the
conduct of the ACTA negotiations . . .
=09=95 Calls on the Commission and the Council to grant public and
parliamentary access to ACTA negotiation texts and summaries, in
accordance with the Treaty and with Regulation 1049/2001 of 30 May
2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and
Commission documents;
=09=95 Stresses that, unless Parliament is immediately and fully informed
at all stages of the negotiations, it reserves its right to take
suitable action, including bringing a case before the Court of Justice
in order to safeguard its prerogatives;
=09=95 Deplores the calculated choice of the parties not to negotiate
through well-established international bodies, such as WIPO and WTO,
which have established frameworks for public information and
consultation;
=09=95 Calls on the Commission to conduct an impact assessment of the
implementation of ACTA with regard to fundamental rights and data
protection, ongoing EU efforts to harmonise IPR enforcement measures,
and e-commerce, prior to any EU agreement on a consolidated ACTA
treaty text, and to consult with Parliament in a timely manner about
the results of the assessment;
=09=95 Considers that in order to respect fundamental rights, such as the
right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy, while fully
observing the principle of subsidiarity, the proposed agreement should
not make it possible for any so-called =91three-strikes=92 procedures to
be imposed, in full accordance with Parliament=92s decision on Article
1.1b in the (amending) Directive 2009/140/EC calling for the insertion
of a new paragraph 3(a) in Article 1 of Directive 2002/21/EC on the
matter of the =91three strikes=92 policy; Considers that any agreement
must include the stipulation that the closing-off of an individual=92s
Internet access shall be subject to prior examination by a court;
=09=95 Points out that ACTA provisions, notably measures aimed at
strengthening powers for cross-border inspection and seizure of goods,
should not affect global access to legitimate, affordable and safe
medicinal products =96 including innovative and generic products =96 on
the pretext of combating counterfeiting;
The 13 MEP who voted against the ACTA resolution are reportedly from
just 2 parties: UKIP and Partij voor de Vrijheid.

=09=95 ACTA

Source URL: http://keionline.org/node/801
Links:
[1]
http://www.pcworld.com/article/191190/european_parliament_demands_trans=
parency_in_acta_talks.html
[2] http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100310/0425238499.shtml
[3]
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/026-70281-067-=
03-11-903-20100309IPR70280-08-03-2010-2010-false/default_en.htm
[4]
http://christianengstrom.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/epic-win-for-transpar=
ency-on-acta/
[5]
http://www.euractiv.com/en/health/meps-defy-commission-internet-piracy-=
agreement-news-326215
[6]
http://www.laquadrature.net/en/european-parliament-strongly-opposes-act=
as-democratic-deficit
[7]
http://www.erikjosefsson.eu/sites/default/files/UNOFFICIAL_CONSOLIDATED=
_VERSION_OF_ACTA_COMMON_RESOLUTION.pdf

------------------------------------------------------------

Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
thiru op keionline.org

Tel: +41 22 791 6727
Mobile: +41 76 508 0997