EU Rapporteur for ACTA to Recommend Rejection of the Agreement

Yesterday, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the EU Parliament held a public debate on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.  At the debate, the EU’s Rapporteur for ACTA, MEP David Martin announced that he will recommend that Parliament vote to reject the agreement.

In a press release, Martin said: “Today’s conference has confirmed my suspicion that ACTA raises more fears than hopes. What it delivers in terms of important intellectual property rights is diminished by potential threats to civil liberties and internet freedom. When the European Parliament rejects ACTA, the Commission must work to find other ways to defend European intellectual property in the global marketplace.”

In a blog post today, Martin said that “ACTA has already been signed by 22 EU members, including the UK but this will mean nothing if it is not ratified by the European Parliament. The much maligned, little valued European Parliament is now, with the powers allocated to it by the Lisbon Treaty, holding the future of the act in its hands.”

Earlier this week, the Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research, and Energy rapporteur on ACTA recommended that Parliament withhold its consent to ACTA. (See the FFII blog for more.)

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  • Mike Palmedo

    Mike Palmedo is the admin for infojustice.org, and he manages interdisciplinary research on copyright exceptions at American University College of Law's Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property. He has Masters degrees Economics and in International Affairs, and is an economics PhD candidate.

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