Party of European Socialists President, Sergei Stanishev, stated that; “the decision by the Commissioner was due to the ‘people-power’ of the tens of thousands who had called for ACTA to be scrapped”. Mr. Stanishev had himself helped to promote the Sofia event of a European ‘anti-ACTA’ day on the 11th of February. He added that; “the ACTA agreement as it stands cannot fulfill the needs of EU citizens. It should therefore be scrapped. Any new text should take, as its starting point, the principle of free expression and privacy for EU citizens”.
Backing up the “people power” thesis, the Commission had not made any public statements on the need for an ECJ ruling until after the European action day, first floating the idea at an internal strategy meeting (as reported by European Digital Rights).
The referral to the ECJ will postpone any possible ratification of the text by at least one year.
PES Secretary General Philip Cordery said that; “today’s decision should act as a boost to all those progressive activists who wonder if their actions make a difference. ACTA will be fundamentally altered thanks to your engagement”.
S&D Euro MP David Martin, responsible for the ACTA report in the European Parliament, welcomed the decision and said: "Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht today admitted that there are still many question marks about ACTA and what the implementation of the agreement, as it stands, would mean for citizens and for the freedom of the internet”. He added that; “We will wait for the ECJ ruling before we draw conclusions, but an open political debate in the European Parliament is also necessary on the measures foreseen by ACTA”.
NOTE: On 1 March, Mr. Stanishev will meet with key NGO representatives ahead of the first public hearing on the issue in the European Parliament. The hearing will be hosted by the International trade committee (INTA).
For more information, please contact Brian Synnott, PES Media Adviser, +32 (0)474 98 96 75, brian.synnott@pes.org
