Reported on by Out-law.com for some time, this deal is being negotiated by governments around the world outside of the confines of existing trade bodies such as the World Trade Organisation or the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the Commission is negotiating on behalf of the EU's 27 member states.
The European Commission chamber (right)

Secrecy has surrounded the two-year negotiations from the start and critics such as European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Peter Hustinx (right) has said that those proposals that had been made public were worrying. He also condemned the fact that so little information about negotiations has been publicised.

"According to documents leaked, the ACTA negotiations touch on, among other things, pending EU legislation regarding the enforcement of IPRs [intellectual property rights] and the so-called ‘Telecoms Package’ and on existing EU legislation regarding e-commerce and data protection," says the EU parliament resolution.

"The ongoing EU efforts to harmonise IPR enforcement measures should not be circumvented by trade negotiations which are outside the scope of normal EU decision-making processes," it said. "Any agreement reached by the European Union on ACTA must comply with the legal obligations imposed on the EU with respect to privacy and data protection law."

Parliament said that, under new government structures introduced by last year's Lisbon Treaty, it will have to approve any measures negotiated by the Commission.

The resolution said that since the passing of the Lisbon Treaty the Commission must inform Parliament on the progress of international negotiations, but said that it had been kept in the dark. MEPs insisted that they be informed now what shape negotiations are taking.
"[The Parliament] calls on the Commission and the Council to grant public and parliamentary access to ACTA negotiation texts and summaries," said the statement.

"Unless Parliament is immediately and fully informed at all stages of the negotiations, it reserves its right to take suitable action, including bringing a case before the Court of Justice in order to safeguard its prerogatives," it said.

The resolution demands not only that the Commission publish  information about the current process, but that it change the negotiating process itself.

"[Parliament] expects the Commission to make proposals prior to the next negotiation round in New Zealand in April 2010, to demand that the issue of transparency is put on the agenda of that meeting and to refer the outcome of the negotiation round to Parliament immediately following its conclusion," it said.