at Article 218 of the Treaty of Lisbon states, and I quote: 'The European Parliament shall be immediately and fully informed at all stages of the procedure' in the framework of the negotiation or conclusion of international agreements. The AntiCounterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is precisely such a case, so keep your word and comply with your own treaty! We cannot but worry about fundamental freedoms. Indeed, interpretation of one offence - piracy - and its punishment will seemingly, in future, no longer be delegated to a judicial authority but to Internet access providers.
What is more, in future, the customs services in those countries that are signatories to the agreement will seemingly be given permission to search telephones, laptop computers and personal stereos on the pretext of combating piracy, in line with the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) Agreement, which was meant to combat terrorism. Remember though, Commissioner: Parliament beat you on SWIFT and it will beat you on ACTA if need be.
One therefore wishes to mix together the fight against counterfeiting and piracy, invasions of privacy, infringements of intellectual property and even, in the case of medicines, infringement of the right to health. Commissioner, put this agreement on the table immediately.
Cristiana Muscardini
(IT) Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is fundamental for achieving full harmonisation of the measures to protect European trade from counterfeiting and piracy. The ACTA negotiations concern sensitive European legislative issues such as guaranteeing the application of intellectual property rights, data transmission and data protection, and this is why we are once again requesting greater transparency.
The Commission must commit itself fully, in accordance with the level of confidentiality. The current negotiating texts must be made available to Parliament so that it can supervise the agreements and possibly offer suggestions to AC