Spoetnik
18-12-04, 15:25
EU Council Presidency Schedules Software Patent Directive for Adoption at Fishery Meeting
Brussels, 14 December 2004 -- Diplomats of the EU Council will decide on Tuesday and Wednesday whether the Council's Software Patent Agreement of May 2004 will be passed by the upcoming Fishery or Environment Council meetings, the last ones of this year. Contrary to recent information given by the Belgian government, the Dutch Presidency is apparently still trying to push through the text from last May as an A-item, i.e. without discussion and without vote. The published justifications for throwing away all of the European Parliament's substantial amendments range from the longtime debunked ("TRIPs requires software patents") to the downright absurd ("politicians must not change established practice").
A recently published Council agenda (page 2, item 5) notes that the adoption of the Council's text from May will be discussed by the Mertens group on Tuesday. This group prepares the meetings of Coreper, which in turn prepares the meetings of the Council. The only Council meetings left under the Dutch Presidency are one on Environment on 20 December and one on Agriculture and Fisheries on 21-22 December.
The Dutch Presidency has been using diplomatic pressure to bully Poland. Although everyone knows that neither the Polish government nor the Polish industry supports the directive text, the Dutch Presidency insists that, due to some formal reasons, Poland must vote "Yes" or agree to a formal adoption without a vote. However, as has been pointed out before and as verified with the Council's own public information service, any country has the right to demand that the directive text should be treated again as a B item (i.e., as a discussion point).
Laura Creighton, software entrepreneur, venture capitalist and vice-president of FFII, comments:
"Before today it was possible for generous people to look charitably at this
text as an example of a tragic mistake, not malice. But not with this
last-minute maneuvering. Only the most committed opponent to the democratic
process would believe that the proper response to the widespread consensus
that there is something profoundly wrong with the Council's text, is to race
it through with an A-item approval the week before Christmas in a _Fisheries_
Council Meeting. The bad smell coming from Brussels has nothing to do with
the fish."
Mag. Othmar Karas, MEP of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and Vice President of the European People's Party (EPP) in the European Parliament, recently lambasted the Council's behaviour as well in a press release:
"The planned directive on software patents no longer has a majority in the
Council. The political agreement of May is outdated, both because of the
new voting weights stipulated by the Nice treaty and because of the changes
of position in Poland, the Netherlands and Germany."
A draft statement of reasons proposed by the Dutch Presidency has to justify this defiance of democratic decision making. It claims that a large number of the European Parliament's amendments "did not reflect established practice" or "would be contrary to the international obligations under the TRIPs agreement".
Hartmut Pilch, president of the FFII, notes:
"The Dutch presidency seems to be avoiding conflicts by preparing an
explanatory document that explains as little as possible. They do not
explain which kinds of patent claims should be acceptable and which not,
which interests are served thereby and which not and why. They merely
point to the European Patent Office as the authority. One may wonder
whether this is the intention of a qualified majority. Also, the Dutch
presidency adds the TRIPs fallacy. They could just as well have added a
statement that the earth is flat."
Jonas Maebe of FFII Belgium adds:
"One group of amendments from the European Parliament is dismissed by the
Council with the simple justification that they "did not reflect
established practice". Let's hope for the Council's sake that the European
Parliament does not ever again get the idea that they can submit proposals
which actually change things."
It is not yet known whether Poland will bow to the pressure. Poland's diplomats at the Council have, ever since May 2004, contradicted their government's repeated statements of opposition to the directive draft. They have always insisted on unwritten rules of diplomacy whose violation, they fear, would be disadvantageous to Poland.
http://kwiki.ffii.org/Cons041213En
Dit is hoe de Europa ondemocratischer wordt! Niet door moslim fundamentalisten die in de moskee oproepen tot haat, maar door gewiekste politici die hun macht aanwenden om het bedrijflevens de absolute macht te geven in Europa. Terwijl de burgers nog in landen geloven, is de macht al verplaatst naar het ondemocratische brussel waar nu een fascistische dictatuur wordt gevestigd op basis van het groot kapitaal, grotendeels gecontrolleerd vanuit London en Amsterdam.
Brinkhorst die verdient hiervoor 20 jaar in een werkkamp wegens verraad aan de duizenden nieuwe software bedrijven in Nederland wiens bestaan door deze wetgeving onmogelijk wordt.
Brussels, 14 December 2004 -- Diplomats of the EU Council will decide on Tuesday and Wednesday whether the Council's Software Patent Agreement of May 2004 will be passed by the upcoming Fishery or Environment Council meetings, the last ones of this year. Contrary to recent information given by the Belgian government, the Dutch Presidency is apparently still trying to push through the text from last May as an A-item, i.e. without discussion and without vote. The published justifications for throwing away all of the European Parliament's substantial amendments range from the longtime debunked ("TRIPs requires software patents") to the downright absurd ("politicians must not change established practice").
A recently published Council agenda (page 2, item 5) notes that the adoption of the Council's text from May will be discussed by the Mertens group on Tuesday. This group prepares the meetings of Coreper, which in turn prepares the meetings of the Council. The only Council meetings left under the Dutch Presidency are one on Environment on 20 December and one on Agriculture and Fisheries on 21-22 December.
The Dutch Presidency has been using diplomatic pressure to bully Poland. Although everyone knows that neither the Polish government nor the Polish industry supports the directive text, the Dutch Presidency insists that, due to some formal reasons, Poland must vote "Yes" or agree to a formal adoption without a vote. However, as has been pointed out before and as verified with the Council's own public information service, any country has the right to demand that the directive text should be treated again as a B item (i.e., as a discussion point).
Laura Creighton, software entrepreneur, venture capitalist and vice-president of FFII, comments:
"Before today it was possible for generous people to look charitably at this
text as an example of a tragic mistake, not malice. But not with this
last-minute maneuvering. Only the most committed opponent to the democratic
process would believe that the proper response to the widespread consensus
that there is something profoundly wrong with the Council's text, is to race
it through with an A-item approval the week before Christmas in a _Fisheries_
Council Meeting. The bad smell coming from Brussels has nothing to do with
the fish."
Mag. Othmar Karas, MEP of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and Vice President of the European People's Party (EPP) in the European Parliament, recently lambasted the Council's behaviour as well in a press release:
"The planned directive on software patents no longer has a majority in the
Council. The political agreement of May is outdated, both because of the
new voting weights stipulated by the Nice treaty and because of the changes
of position in Poland, the Netherlands and Germany."
A draft statement of reasons proposed by the Dutch Presidency has to justify this defiance of democratic decision making. It claims that a large number of the European Parliament's amendments "did not reflect established practice" or "would be contrary to the international obligations under the TRIPs agreement".
Hartmut Pilch, president of the FFII, notes:
"The Dutch presidency seems to be avoiding conflicts by preparing an
explanatory document that explains as little as possible. They do not
explain which kinds of patent claims should be acceptable and which not,
which interests are served thereby and which not and why. They merely
point to the European Patent Office as the authority. One may wonder
whether this is the intention of a qualified majority. Also, the Dutch
presidency adds the TRIPs fallacy. They could just as well have added a
statement that the earth is flat."
Jonas Maebe of FFII Belgium adds:
"One group of amendments from the European Parliament is dismissed by the
Council with the simple justification that they "did not reflect
established practice". Let's hope for the Council's sake that the European
Parliament does not ever again get the idea that they can submit proposals
which actually change things."
It is not yet known whether Poland will bow to the pressure. Poland's diplomats at the Council have, ever since May 2004, contradicted their government's repeated statements of opposition to the directive draft. They have always insisted on unwritten rules of diplomacy whose violation, they fear, would be disadvantageous to Poland.
http://kwiki.ffii.org/Cons041213En
Dit is hoe de Europa ondemocratischer wordt! Niet door moslim fundamentalisten die in de moskee oproepen tot haat, maar door gewiekste politici die hun macht aanwenden om het bedrijflevens de absolute macht te geven in Europa. Terwijl de burgers nog in landen geloven, is de macht al verplaatst naar het ondemocratische brussel waar nu een fascistische dictatuur wordt gevestigd op basis van het groot kapitaal, grotendeels gecontrolleerd vanuit London en Amsterdam.
Brinkhorst die verdient hiervoor 20 jaar in een werkkamp wegens verraad aan de duizenden nieuwe software bedrijven in Nederland wiens bestaan door deze wetgeving onmogelijk wordt.