The Croatian Labour Party will demand that the government refuse to sign the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and will join in a protest on February 11 against its ratification in the European Parliament, which is expected to happen by this summer.
The parliamentary party said in a statement on Thursday that the purpose of ACTA was not copyright protection but control of free communication on the Internet, noting that any restriction of that freedom could be considered a direct attack on civil freedoms and rights. The party said it would ask the government not to sign the agreement which it considers detrimental to the interests of Croatian society and its citizens.
The Labour Party said it would join numerous associations and informal organisations of citizens around the globe in protests against the ratification of ACTA.
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is an international treaty signed by 22 of the 27 EU member-countries in Tokyo. According to the web site of the European Commission, ACTA ensures people everywhere can continue to share non-pirated material and information on the web. It does not restrict freedom of the Internet, and will not censor or shut down websites.
Another parliamentary party, the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) Ante Starcevic, believes that the existing form of ACTA is unacceptable in a democratic society and asks the government to make public Croatia's official position on the matter.
The party said in a statement that there had been no public debate about this or other important issues, including the signing of Croatia's EU Accession Treaty, which it said had been done without relevant information and public debate.
It asked the government to open a public debate and inform citizens about ACTA before signing and sending it to parliament for ratification.
