ACTA is an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement which is currently negotiated on an international level. This information is designed to give a better understanding about the European Union's policies with regard to ACTA. It will not repeat what others have done already and what is public available on the web but it will connect to those websites which are informative, correct and reliable.

I was a Member to the European Parliament until Summer 2009; since then I stay connected through various channels with certain areas of European policy making, specifically those which relate to the Internet. In my professional capacity I work with the Computer & Communication Industry Association (ccianet.org) based in Washington and Brussels.

The most comprehensive information about ACTA comes from Michael Geist (michaelgeist.ca) a Canadian law professor at the University of Ottowa, he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law.

Michael Geist website looks into the effect ACTA will have on the legislative environment not just for Canada but for other countries as well.


European Institutions

• European Parliament, JOINT MOTION FOR A on the transparency and state of play of the ACTA negotiations, 9.3.2010, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+MOTION+P7-RC-2010-0154+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN
• EU Council: DRAFT COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 1 March 2010 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights in the internal market, http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/10/st06/st06363.en10.pdf; also see http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/intm/113105.pdf
• Peter Hustinx: Opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor on the current negotiations by the European Union of an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), 22.2.2010, http://www.edps.europa.eu/EDPSWEB/webdav/site/mySite/shared/Documents/Consultation/Opinions/2010/10-02-22_ACTA_EN.pdf
• EU Council: ACTA negotiations - EU counterproposal, possible flexibility, 12.2.2010, http://blog.die-linke.de/digitalelinke/wp-content/uploads/ACTA-6437-10.pdf
• EU Council refuses to disclose ACTA negotiation documents, 12.2.2010, http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/10/st05/st05442.en10.pdf
  

press & blogs in English speaking countries

• Michael Geist: Major ACTA Leak: Internet and Civil Enforcement Chapters With Country Positions, 1.3.2010, http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4829/125/
• Michael Geist: The ACTA Transparency Scorecard, 26.2.2010, http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4822/125
• Michael Geist: The ACTA Guide, Part 1: The Talks To-Date, 25.1.2010, http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4725/125/
• Michael Geist: ACTA Guide, Part 2: The Documents (Official and Leaked), http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4730/125/
• Michael Geist: ACTA Guide, Part 3: Transparency and ACTA Secrecy, http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4737/125/
• Michael Geist: ACTA Guide: Part 4: What Will ACTA Mean To My Domestic Law?, http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4741/125/
• Michael Geist: ACTA Guide, Part 5: Speaking Out, http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4742/125/
• EDRI-gram: ACTA: The Hot Copyright Treaty Surrounded By Secrecy, 10.2.2010, http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number8.3/meps-question-acta
• In Secret, Nations Work Toward Crackdown on Piracy, New York Times, 8.2.2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/technology/08piracy.html?pagewanted=all
• Blogging ACTA Across The Globe: Lessons From Korea, EFF, 29.1.2010, http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/01/acta-and-korea
• Blogging ACTA Across The Globe: The View from France, EFF, 28.1.2010, http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/01/acta-and-france
• Blogging ACTA Across The Globe: FFII's Ante Wessels on Exporting Europe's Flaws, EFF, 26.1.2010, http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/01/blogging-acta-across-globe-ffiis-ante-wessels-expo
• Blogging ACTA Across the Globe: CIPPIC's David Fewer on What ACTA Means for Canadian Citizens, EFF, 25.21.2010, http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/01/blogging-acta-across-globe-cippics-david-fewer-wha
• Michael Geist: The ACTA Threat: My Talk on Everything You Need To Know About ACTA, But Didn't Know To Ask, 12.11.2009,  http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4530/125/

press & blogs in Germany

• ACTA: EU-Parlament watscht Kommission, ORF Futurezone, 10.3.2010, http://futurezone.orf.at/stories/1641328/
• EU-Parlament fordert Einschränkung des Anti-Piraterie-Abkommens ACTA, heise online, 10.3.2010, http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/EU-Parlament-fordert-Einschraenkung-des-Anti-Piraterie-Abkommens-ACTA-950871.html
• ACTA: Neue Enthüllungen, neue Befürchtungen, heise online, 3.3.2010, http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/ACTA-Neue-Enthuellungen-neue-Befuerchtungen-945479.html
• Neues ACTA-Dokument durchgesickert, vertrauliche Diskussionsgrundlage des EU-Rates, ORF Futurezone, 2.3.2010, http://futurezone.orf.at/stories/1640657/
• Deutschland gegen Transparenz bei ACTA, netzpolitik.org, 28.2.2010, http://www.netzpolitik.org/2010/deutschland-gegen-transparenz-bei-acta/
• ACTA: "Wir wollen wissen, was los ist", Interview mit MEP Alexander Alvaro (Liberale), ORF Futurezone, 25.2.2010, http://futurezone.orf.at/stories/1640356/
• EU-Datenschützer warnt vor ACTA, Peter Hustinx warnt vor Eingriffe in Verbraucher- und Datenschutzrechte, ORF Futurezone, 22.2.2010, http://futurezone.orf.at/stories/1640140/
• ACTA-Abkommen: Entwurf des Copyright-Acts sind Zugangssperren vor, Spiegel online, 22.2.2010, http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/netzpolitik/0,1518,679439,00.html
• ACTA: Internet-Provider sollen kontrollieren, ORF Futurezone, 22.2.2010, http://futurezone.orf.at/stories/1640129/
• EU-Kommission berichtet über ACTA, netzpolitik.org, 16.2.2010, http://www.netzpolitik.org/2010/eu-kommission-berichtet-ueber-acta/
• ACTA-Abkommen: Die wichtigsten Fragen zum Copyright-Pakt, Spiegel online, 1.2.2010, http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/netzpolitik/0,1518,674802,00.html