[Chapter-delegates] PES on ACTA - wow!

[Eduard Tric]

Thank you Veni ,
You are welcome to say some words from Isoc Bulgaria during our Acta conference tomorrow(11am-3pm , Romanian Time) by phone , skype or email  , some MEP's have sent us video messages as well
http://www.isoc.ro/events/acta-intre-amenintarile-anonymous-si-controlul-guvernamental/
Regards,
Ed


----- Original Message -----
From: "Veni Markovski" <veni at veni.com>
To: "Eduard Tric" <eduard at axetel.com>
Cc: "Alejandro Pisanty" <apisan at servidor.unam.mx>, Chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org, "European Chapters" <european-chapters at elists.isoc.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 9:54:58 PM
Subject: Re: [Chapter-delegates] PES on ACTA - wow!

More on that, from Ms. Reding: 
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/reding/pdf/quote_statement_en.pdf 


Statement by Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission 
and EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, 
on freedom of expression and information via the Internet, attempts to 
block websites, "three-strikes-laws", and ACTA 

1. For the European Union, freedom of expression and freedom of 
information, regardless by which technological means and regardless of 
frontiers, are fundamental rights. They are enshrined in the EU's Charter of 
Fundamental Rights(1), which takes precedence over all EU legislation, 
including international agreements concluded by the EU. The European 
Union therefore stands for a freely accessible Internet and for freedom 
of expression and freedom of information via the Internet. 

2. Intellectual property is also a fundamental right recognised by the EU's 
Charter of Fundamental Rights.(2) It ensures that artistic creations by authors 
are protected. However, this is not an absolute fundamental right. European 
policy therefore should aim at mutually balancing the respect for both 
fundamental rights, without calling into question their essence. Freedom of 
information and intellectual property rights must not be enemies; they 
should be partners! 

3. Copyright protection can never be a justification for eliminating freedom of 
expression or freedom of information. That is why for me, blocking the 
Internet is never an option. Instead, we need to find new, more modern 
and more effective ways in Europe to protect artistic creations that take 
account of technological developments and the freedoms of the Internet. 
The promotion of legal offers, including across borders, should become a 
priority for policy-makers. 

4. This is a position that I have previously defended in the debate on the EU 
Telecoms Package in 2009. Some politicians wanted to include in this 
legislation provisions that would have authorised a "three-strikes solution" 
to protect copyright. I opposed this at the time. In spite of significant 
political pressure(3), I instead supported – in the name of the European 
Commission and in close alliance with the European Parliament – the 
inclusion of an "Internet freedom provision" in the final text of this 
legislation.(4) This "Internet freedom provision" represents a great victory 
for the rights and freedoms of European citizens. Under this provision, 
"three-strikes laws", which could cut off Internet access without a prior fair 
and impartial procedure or without effective and timely judicial review, will 
certainly not become part of European law. 

5. This situation can and must not be changed by the ACTA agreement, which 
is currently under public discussion in the European Parliament and in the 
national parliaments of the EU Member States. As I said, I am against all 
attempts to block Internet websites. Even though the text of the ACTA 
agreement does not provide for new rules compared to today's legal 
situation in Europe, I understand that many people are worried about how 
ACTA would be implemented. I therefore welcome the intention of 
several members of the European Parliament to ask the European 
Court of Justice for a legal opinion to clarify that the ACTA agreement 
cannot limit freedom of expression and freedom of the Internet. 


_____ 
1 Article 11(1) of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. 
2 Article 17 (2) of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. 
3 See the reports at http://www.edri.org/book/export/html/1603 ; and at http://www.ecrans.fr/Ripostegraduee - 
Barroso-dit-non-a,5348.html; 
4 See " Commission position on Amendment 138 adopted by the European Parliament in plenary vote on 24 
September", http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/681 ; and 
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/09/491&format=HTML&aged=1&lang 
uage=EN&guiLanguage=fr