The
degree of secrecy surrounding the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade
Agreement (ACTA) has reached a worrying new height. Pirate Party MEP Christian
Engstrom saw himself forced to leave a meeting with ACTA negotiators in the
European Parliament after he was forbidden from sharing information with the
public.
ACTA is an international agreement that aims to target piracy and
counterfeiting globally. The secrecy surrounding the negotiations is
astonishing. It became clear that even elected representatives at the
European Parliament are not allowed to share ACTA-related information
with their voters.
Following the latest round of ACTA negotiations in Lucerne,
Switzerland, the Commission's negotiators came to the European
Parliament to give an update on ACTA's progress. True to the secrecy
surrounding most ACTA meetings, the gathering was closed to the public.
Pirate Party MEP Christian Engstrom was also invited to join, and at
the meeting he asked if this secret setup also meant that he wasn't
allowed to share any of the information with the public.
At first the Commission seemed unwilling to answer this question
with a straight yes or no, but after I had repeated the question a
number of times, they finally came out and said that I would not be
allowed to spread the information given, Engstrom explained.
Like many others, Engstrom fails to see the benefit of keeping
information from the public. There is no sensible reason why the ACTA
negotiations should be carried out in secret, or why Members of the
European Parliament should not be allowed to discuss information about
ACTA with their constituents. In a democracy, new laws should be made by
the elected representatives after an open public debate. They should not
be negotiated behind closed doors by unelected officials at the
Commission, in an attempt to keep the citizens out of the process until
it is too late.
That is disgraceful, Engstrom concludes.
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