Wednesday

6th Dec 2023

EU commission admits mistake on Acta

  • An Acta protest - "once we have unhappy or frustrated citizens on the squares or in the streets, it's already too late for the communication" (Photo: Agnes Lisik)

The European Commission has said it was surprised by the scale of opposition to a global anti-counterfeit treaty, having underestimated the power of social media to mobilise protesters.

Maros Sefcovic, a commission vice-president, on Tuesday (20 March) admitted his institution was caught on the back foot when thousands of people earlier this year took to the streets to protest the agreement.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

“What is the power of the people? We saw it recently here in January and February when we suddenly realised that, in spite of the freezing temperatures, we had thousands of people in different squares in Europe protesting against Acta."

Acta – the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement – is meant to protect intellectual property rights, as well as target counterfeit goods and generic medicines, but critics say it undermines freedom of expression and privacy.

The European Commission, negotiating the treaty alongside EU member states since 2008, has often been in the firing line over the secrecy of the international discussions.

But the issue really flared up when it and 22 member states signed the document in January and formal ratification began.

“We saw how our absence in the world of social media on this particular topic caused us a lot of troubles,” Sefcovic told a Brussels audience.

“I think this is a lesson for all of us that we have to be much more active and in a much more communicative mood when it comes to such sensitive topics in the future,” he added.

The protests took place in several cities in Europe, resulting in a series of member states deciding to suspend ratification. The European Parliament, which can reject the treaty, received a two-million strong global petition against Acta.

The commission for its part made tactical semi-retreat in February by saying it would turn over the treaty to the EU's highest court to see if it breached any EU laws, particularly on privacy.

"We saw this huge wave of communication on the social media to which we didn't react on time (causing) the situation where we need now to backtrack a little bit and look for reassurances from the European Court of Justice," said Sefcovic.

But some believe the commission took the easy way by seeking to depoliticise the discussion and focus it on legalese.

Martin Schulz, head of the European Parliament, recently suggested that by taking the court step, the commission had removed the immediate chance for parliament to discuss an issue that citizens feel strongly about.

EU parliament chief joins anti-Acta camp

European Parliament chief Martin Schulz has spoken out against a new intellectual property regime, amid growing signs it will face problems getting past MEPs.

Letter

Acta is a crucial step forward

There has been a great deal of rumour and speculation surrounding Acta and it is unfortunate that the media increases these rumours and misinformation.

MEPs to vote on Acta before summer

MEPs in the parliament's trade committee Tuesday rejected a proposal to refer Acta to the European Court of Justice, meaning the controversial anti-counterfeit treaty is set to be voted on before summer.

Agenda

This WEEK in the European Union

The EU will on Wednesday announce plans to set up a European cyber crime centre while at the end of the week an EU treaty article on participatory democracy goes live.

Latest News

  1. EU nears deal to fingerprint six year-old asylum seekers
  2. Orbán's Ukraine-veto threat escalates ahead of EU summit
  3. Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?
  4. Protecting workers' rights throughout the AI revolution
  5. Russia, the West, and the geopolitical 'touch-move rule'
  6. Afghanistan is a 'forever emergency,' says UN head
  7. EU public procurement reform 'ineffective', find auditors
  8. COP28 warned over-relying on carbon capture costs €27 trillion

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us