On May 12th, 2011 the plenary session of European Parliament adopted a report called “Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries” (INI/2010/2156), that made clear its support for the international binding “Treaty for the visually impaired and other print disabled persons” presently being considered at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Article 70 of the report “Calls on the Commission to work actively and positively within the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to agree on a binding legal norm based on the treaty proposal drafted by the World Blind Union and tabled at WIPO in 2009”.
To date the EU Council and the European Commission that represents the EU position before WIPO, in opposition to the clearly favorable position of the European Parliament, have rejected the treaty proposal and have instead supported soft law “recommendations” and voluntary licenses.
Given the position expressed by the EP, that represents the democratic will of European Citizens, in favor of a binding legal norm based on the treaty proposal proposed by the World Blind Union and supported by the European Blind Union, how will the Council and the Commission proceed during the upcoming discussions and special session on this issue at WIPO in June 2011? How will the EU Member States, Council and the Commission reflect the opinion of the European Parliament? How will the Council and the Commission reflect its commitments to the UN Convention on the rights of disabled persons?