Neelie Kroes Accepts ACTA Is Doomed

European Commissioner for Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes has today admitted that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is unlikely to pass through the European parliament.

Speaking at the Re:publica conference in Berlin, Kroes said that the main task ahead of governments now is to guarantee freedom of the Internet, while at the same time making it safe for users, reports thejournal.ie. She said this would have to be accomplished without ACTA.

A world without ACTA

“We are now likely to be in a world without SOPA and without ACTA,” Kroes said. “Now we need to find solutions to make the Internet a place of freedom, openness, and innovation fit for all citizens.”

ACTA was written up behind closed doors in November 2010, after four years of negotiations among the EU’s 27 members and 10 other countries, including the US and Japan. It aimed to up the fight against counterfeiting and digital piracy through greater co-ordination of anti-counterfeiting measures and tough enforcement.

The treaty caused Europe-wide protests, and mobilised an army of anti-ACTA campaigners. Kader Arif, a European MP appointed to review the document, described the agreement as a “masquerade” and resigned.

In February, the European Commission proposed sending ACTA to the EU’s highest court, to establish if the agreement goes against fundamental human rights such as the freedom of expression and information.

The proposal was rejected in March. European Parliament’s trade committee will vote on whether to approve ACTA in June, followed by a vote by the full Parliament in July.

Kroes has suggested that in the (very likely) case the committee will vote against ACTA, an alternative solution will be necessary. “There is no freedom without security; these concepts are interdependent and complementary. I may have the legal right to walk down a particular road at night – but am I truly free to do so, if it is not safe?”

ACTA can only come into force in the EU if it is ratified by both the European Parliament and every single member state.

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