[A2k] [ffii] EU Council may pass ACTA silently during parliamentary recess
Ante
ante@ffii.org
Thu Apr 2 09:36:32 2009
PRESS RELEASE -- [ Europe / Economy / Innovation ]
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EU Council may pass ACTA silently during parliamentary recess
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Brussels, 2 April 2009 - The EU Council leaves the possibility open to pass
the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) silently during parliamentar=
y
vacation. The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) oppos=
es
such secret legislation.
Member of the European Parliament Jens Holm asked the EU Council whether th=
e
final draft of ACTA will be published prior to political agreement in the
Council. He also asked whether parliaments will have enough time to scrutin=
ise
ACTA, and whether the Council can ensure that ACTA is not quietly passed
during parliamentary recess. The Council declined to answer these questions=
.
The Council writes in its answer: "Since the stage of the final determinati=
on
of the legal basis has not yet been reached, it is not possible for Council=
to
reply in detail to the procedural questions raised by the Honourable Member=
."
FFII analyst Ante Wessels comments: "The Council can publish texts regardle=
ss
of the legal basis. No legal basis obliges the Council to pass ACTA silentl=
y
during parliamentary recess. The Honourable Member received a bogus answer.=
"
Behind closed doors, the EU, U.S., Japan and other governments are negotiat=
ing
ACTA. No drafts are published. ACTA will contain a new international benchm=
ark
for legal frameworks on the enforcement of copyrights, trade mark rights,
patents and other so called intellectual property rights. Public interest
organisations are concerned ACTA may limit access to medicines, limit acces=
s
to the internet, give patent trolls free reign and harm the most innovative
sectors of the economy.
In the U.S., hundreds of advisors, many of them corporate lobbyists, are
considered "cleared advisors." They have access to the ACTA documents.
Ante Wessels comments: "Apparently there is room to give ACTA documents to
corporate lobbyists. Then the non-discrimination principle obliges to give =
the
general public access as well. It is a sick and illegal situation that
lobbyists receive texts Members of Parliament do not get."
In related news, Dutch customs authorities sent legitimate generic
antiretroviral medicines in transit from India to Nigeria back to India. Th=
e
shipment=E2=80=99s delay could lead to HIV-positive Nigerian patients missi=
ng
"critical treatment", health advocates said in March of this year.
Ante Wessels adds: "While the FFII's focus is on software and innovation, t=
his
example clearly shows where disproportional anti-piracy measures can lead t=
o.
They not only hurt companies and innovation, they can actually kill people.=
"
The European Parliament adopted two resolutions asking for access to ACTA
documents. According to the FFII analysis both the European Parliament and =
the
Member States of the EU can veto ACTA.
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Links
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* MEP Jens Holm Parliamentary question and answer:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=3DCRE&reference=3D200903=
12&secondRef=3DANN-01&language=3DSV&detail=3DH-2009-0089&query=3DQUESTION
or: http://tinyurl.com/c2gqke
* FFII analysis:
http://action.ffii.org/acta/Analysis
* U.S. "cleared advisors":
http://www.keionline.org/blogs/2009/03/13/who-are-cleared-advisors/
* Alarm Escalates Over Delayed Generic Drug Shipments As Action Sought
http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2009/03/06/alarm-escalates-over-delayed-
generic-drug-shipments-as-action-sought/
or http://tinyurl.com/cbdsxe
* European Parliament resolution 18 December 2008
http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2008/12/20/no-acta-deal-yet-as-eu-parliament=
-
seeks-narrower-scope-more-transparency/
or http://tinyurl.com/dzkwwr
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=3DTA&language=3DEN&refer=
ence=3DP6-
TA-2008-0634
or http://tinyurl.com/8eyjgm
* European Parliament resolution 11 March 2009
http://www.straight.com/article-206028/european-parliament-votes-greater-
acta-transparency
or http://tinyurl.com/b4uk2f
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=3D-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-
TA-2009-0114+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=3DEN#BKMD-15
or http://tinyurl.com/ch6hj7
*=C2=A0Earlier PR: EU Council deliberately obstructs access to ACTA documen=
ts
http://press.ffii.org/Press_releases/EU_Council_deliberately_obstructs_acce=
ss_to_ACTA_documents
* Permanent link to this press release:
http://press.ffii.org/EU_Council_may_pass_ACTA_silently_during_parliamentar=
y_recess
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Contact
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Benjamin Henrion
FFII Brussels
+32-2-414 84 03
+32-484-566109
bhenrion@ffii.org
(French/English)
Ante Wessels
+31-6-100-99-063
ante@ffii.org
(Dutch/English)
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About the FFII
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The FFII is a not-for-profit association active in over fifty countries,
dedicated to the development of information goods for the public
benefit, based on copyright, free competition, and open standards. More
than 850 members, 3,500 companies and 100,000 supporters have entrusted
the FFII to act as their voice in public policy questions concerning
exclusion rights (intellectual property) in data processing.
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--
vriendelijke groet,
cordialmente,
Ante