European Parliament Trade Committee Backs Cultural Exclusion From EU-US FTA

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch

The International Trade Committee (INTA) of the European Parliament yesterday passed a resolution welcoming negotiations for a Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the European Union and the United States (23 in favor, five against, one abstention). While most of the 198 amendments to the report of the rapporteur, the INTA Committee Chair Vital Moreira (Socialists and Democrats Group) were rejected by the majority, an amendment asking for the “exclusion of the cultural and audiovisual services, including those provided online” in the negotiation mandate was adopted.

Parliament officially has no role when it comes to deciding the mandate for the Commission as that is up to the Council of Trade Ministers of the EU member states. But Moreira said in a press conference after the 25 April vote that the decision marked the determination of Parliament to subject the TTIP to extra scrutiny.

What was new for a free trade agreement (FTA) negotiation was that the Commission would brief Parliament before and after each negotiation round. But Moreira also said he himself was opposed to redlining special sectors. “If we start to exclude chapters the other side will do that too,” he warned. Moreira added that the Plenary of the Parliament still could reverse that amendment.

French MEP Francoise Castex in an email said she was satisfied with the exclusion of audiovisual services, yet still feared a new Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA, which met strong public opposition in Europe), as an amendment to cut out “strong protection of IPR, including geographical indications” was rejected. The exclusion of intellectual property more generally was requested recently by a group of 38 non-governmental organisations.