ANTI-COUNTERFEITING TRADE AGREEMENT : ACTA DOES NOT AFFECT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, SAYS COMMISSION.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), signed in late January, is an international intellectual property enforcement treaty which in no way modifies EU legislation, a European Commission civil servant claimed, on 13 February. The civil servant was adamant that in terms of freedom of expression on the internet, ACTA will not introduce changes. Meanwhile, objection to the text is growing. Throughout Europe, demonstrators marched against this agreement, which they feel seriously infringes on people's personal freedoms.

The agreement has also been the subject of virulent debates in the European Parliament. So much so that the institution's President, Martin Schulz (S&D, Germany), described the agreement as "unbalanced". Some member states have even decided to freeze ACTA's ratification process.

The EU cannot remain competitive in key fields (innovation or creativity) if it does not arm itself with adequate property rights protection, the Commission argues. The Commission's line of argument is that while the relevant European standards are particularly high, in a now-globalised economy, international harmonisation is necessary. Thus, the ACTA establishes an international framework that sets the game-playing rules in terms of intellectual property. But the various mechanisms contained in this agreement already exist in EU legislation, the civil servant claimed, stressing that "everything that is legal today will continue to be so, and everything that is illegal will remain illegal".

A relevant example is the responsibility of internet access providers with regard to the activities of its users, which could be an infringement of individual freedoms - one of the main criticisms by the text's detractors, who feel that the provision is far too vague. The civil servant insisted that "the ACTA will not modify [EU law] in any way," stressing that the text only penalises infringements that have an economic and commercial scope. It does not concern...