By Martha Moss - 22nd February 2012
There are still many question marks about Acta and what the implementation of the agreement, as it stands, would mean for citizens and for the freedom of the internet
David Martin, MEP
The EU has confirmed that Europe's highest court will rule on the legality of the controversial anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (Acta).
European trade commissioner Karel De Gucht said on Tuesday that the European court of justice would be asked to assess whether Acta "is incompatible - in any way - with the EU's fundamental rights and freedoms".
This will include freedom of expression, data protection and the right to property in case of intellectual property, he said.
Supporters argue that the agreement will help tackle piracy and illegal file sharing online, but there have been public demonstrations across Europe amid concerns over freedom of information on the internet.
Parliament's rapporteur on Acta, British MEP David Martin, welcomed the decision, describing it as an admission by De Gucht that "there are still many question marks about Acta and what the implementation of the agreement, as it stands, would mean for citizens and for the freedom of the internet".
The S&D deputy said, "The parliament has been calling for more clarity for a long time, and we already requested legal opinions from several committees in the European parliament.
"Now this ruling will be a good guarantee for the impact on fundamental rights.
"We will wait for the ECJ ruling before we draw conclusions, but an open political debate in the European parliament is also necessary on the measures foreseen by Acta.
"We must guarantee a good balance between intellectual property rights, which are fundamental for the European economy and job creation, and individual freedoms."
Acta has been signed by 22 member states, but is yet to be ratified by parliament.
The international trade committee, the lead committee on the deal, will hold its first discussion on 29 February and parliament will stage a public workshop on 1 March.
It is due to be discussed in plenary in June.
De Gucht said, "I believe the European commission has a responsibility to provide our parliamentary representatives and the public at large with the most detailed and accurate information available.
"So, a referral will allow for Europe's top court to independently clarify the legality of this agreement."
The commissioner described intellectual property as "Europe's main raw material" and said that Acta could "help protect jobs that are currently lost because counterfeited and pirated goods worth €200bn are floating around on the world markets".
"Acta will not censor websites or shut them down; Acta will not hinder freedom of the internet or freedom of speech," he said.
"Let's cut through this fog of uncertainty and put Acta in the spotlight of our highest independent judicial authority."
De Gucht also acknowledged people's concerns for fundamental freedoms, adding "I welcome that people have voiced their concerns so actively - especially over the freedom of the internet. And I also understand that there is uncertainty on what Acta will really mean for these key issues at the end of the day."
He said that referring Acta to the ECJ is a "needed step", and called for a "calm, reasoned and democratic discussion" on the agreement. The debate should be "based upon facts and not upon the misinformation or rumour that has dominated social media sites and blogs in recent weeks," he added.
Sergei Stanishev, the president of the pan-European socialist PES party said the commissioner had acted based on "the 'people-power' of the tens of thousands who had called for Acta to be scrapped".
Stanishev, who had helped to promote the Sofia European anti-Acta day on 11 February, added, "The Acta agreement as it stands cannot fulfil the needs of EU citizens. It should therefore be scrapped. Any new text should take, as its starting point, the principle of free expression and privacy for EU citizens."
PES secretary general Philip Cordery said the decision "should act as a boost to all those progressive activists who wonder if their actions make a difference".
The European publishers council (EPC), which had co-signed letters to MEPs, ministers and the commission expressing support for Acta, also called for an "assessment of the facts".
EPC executive director Angela Mills Wade said, "The EPC welcomes the European commission's decision to refer the Acta treaty to the court of justice. Although this will inevitably lead to a delay in the ratification process, we are confident that the court will uphold the legality of Acta's provisions."
She added, "Acta will not censor websites or shut them down; Acta will not hinder freedom of the internet or freedom of speech. Acta will change nothing about how we use the internet and social websites today since it does not introduce any new rules. Acta only helps to enforce what is already law today.
"Failure to ratify Acta would jeopardise the future of secure copyright protection at EU level just at the moment when the European commission is about to review the copyright directive."
