European Liberals and Democrats welcome the European Commission's decision today to refer ACTA Agreement to the Court of Justice of the European Union to assess the legality of the proposed Plurilateral Trade Agreement  on counterfeiting (ACTA) with regard to fundamental rights, including freedom to Internet access.

Guy Verhofstadt, President of the ALDE group, said: "It is a wise decision which the Commission took, and which the Parliament itself was considering. This agreement has raised too much concern among public opinion concerning the risks of censorship or cutoff of internet access, therefore the European contracting parties must take this into account. We can only have a calm debate on the ratification of ACTA if these fears are dispelled."

"In the meantime, the entire procedure has been frozen. The Commission should take this time to multiply its efforts to refine a modern and coherent legislation concerning internet copyright laws. "

To see the last press release on ACTA, click on the following:
http://www.alde.eu/press/press-and-release-news/press-release/article/parliament-must-carefully-listen-to-citizens-concerns-over-acta-37926/"