The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement

Loz Kaye commented on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a trade agreement being sought between Canada and the EU, intended to give Canada preferential access to European Union markets in return for Canada lifting restrictions to its own markets:

"The European Commission EC has tried to push ACTA through the European Parliament, employing a number of tactics, there now seems to be a new strategy to push through the most discredited aspects of ACTA via a different trade agreement. "

"Recently leaked documents show that the EU plans to use CETA, an agreement nearing its final stages of negotiation, as a backdoor mechanism to implement the ACTA provisions. Something we have feared likely. Whether these provisions were inserted because the commission thought ACTA would pass is immaterial, they should be removed."

"The crowbarring of ACTA type provisions in to the Canada - EU Trade Agreement shows yet again a willful ignoring of the democratic process. There are legitimate concerns about the enforcement, damages and border control obligations in CETA. The EU and international bodies must start to the learn the lessons of the ACTA debacle, and truly engage with citizens."

Additional Notes 15:10

It has been reported recently that whilst the EU commission has previously refused to discuss the leaked CETA, which like ACTA is being formulated behind closed doors, a spokesman for EU trade has said that some parts of CETA have now been removed. This confusion could have been avoided if the EU had been open about the situation when questions arose.

A statement by the same EU trade spokesman yesterday rubbished claims that there were ACTA like clauses in CETA stating that "These accusations are simply rubbish. A future EU-Canada deal will be very similar to the South Korea deal already up and running for a year and that has not brought about the end of a free Internet."

Loz Kaye
Party Leader
Pirate Party UK
@lozkaye

campaigns@pirateparty.org.uk

Contact:
press@pirateparty.org.uk
+44 (0) 161 987 7880