Minister Donner not pleased with European interference with Dutch criminal law
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Following the European Commission's press release on April 26th 2006 about its adoption of a proposal for a directive to combat intellectual property offences, Dutch politicians reacted quickly. The same day Member of Parliament Van Bommel (SP) stated that state secretary Nicolaï (European Affairs) should resist interference with Dutch criminal law. The next day 2 Dutch newspapers opened with the news that for the first time the European Union will interfere with national criminal laws, without the member states having a veto. And again one day later minister Donner (Justice) expressed his doubts.
Quotes in English
According to De Volkskrant, minister Donner said:
- "We have limited means, and the question is whether we want to spend them on this."
The minister also doubts whether the fight against piracy should deserve so much priority that the Commission should mess with the penalty.
- "Frattini mentioned copying a Ferrari, but shouldn't Ferrari solve that itself?" "If the Commission sees this as a priority, we can expect much more to follow."
(Dutch original below)
Distortion in trade
- "Earlier the member states decided that the penalty for pollution from sea ships should be at least a certain amount of years in all member states. They did this to prevent that shipping companies would move to member states where the penalty is lower."
According to Nu.nl minister Donner does not object this, but harmonisation of penalties should only be done if there is a real EU interest. The only legal ground for a directive like this, a harmonisation of criminal measures, is a distortion of trade, i.e, if the non-harmonised state leads to a competitive advantage of member states having lower penalties. About this, Reto M. Hilty, Managing Director, Max Planck Institute for IP, Professor of Law, said at a European Parliament hearing in Januari:
- "Issuing a directive on the basis of Art. 95 EC presupposes that it is essential for the realisation of the single market (Art. 14 EC), i.e. that without harmonisation a distortion in trade between Member States would occur. (...) Whether pirated goods are available within individual Member States is irrelevant from the point of view of European law. Relevant are only barriers to entry to national markets, for example, in the form of border controls, and direct or indirect discrimination."
Quotes in Dutch
Source: http://www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/article297332.ece/Donner_niet_blij_met_ingrijpen_in_straf
- "Het komt erop neer dat wij een koekoeksei krijgen. Wij hebben beperkte middelen en dan is het de vraag of we die hiervoor willen inzetten." 'Donner vraagt zich af of de strijd tegen piraterij wel zoveel prioriteit verdient dat de Commissie zich met de strafmaat moet bemoeien. "Frattini kwam met het voorbeeld van het namaken van een Ferrari, maar is dat geen zaak voor Ferrari zelf?" ' "Als de Commissie dit als prioriteit kiest, dan kun je verwachten dat er nog veel meer terreinen zullen volgen."
Press release MP Van Bommel
- 26-04-2006 * SP-Kamerlid Harry van Bommel wil dat staatssecretaris Nicolaï (Europese Zaken) zich verzet tegen verdere inmenging van de Europese Commissie in het Nederlandse strafrecht. Van Bommel: "De toepassing van strafrecht is een nationale aangelegenheid waar Brussel zich niet mee moet bemoeien. Lidstaten zijn intelligent genoeg om dit zelf te regelen." Van Bommel De Europese Commissie heeft vandaag aangekondigd dat het misbruik van intellectueel eigendom strenger bestraft moet gaan worden. Wat Van Bommel betreft is er geen enkele aanleiding om te komen tot een Europese verplichting tot een strengere aanpak, aangezien nationale strafrechtstelsels voldoende ruimte bieden om dat te bewerkstelligen. Naar aanleiding van de aankondiging van de Europese Commissie heeft Van Bommel opheldering gevraagd van de staatssecretaris.
Links
An earlier version of the directive met much critique during a European Parliament hearing.
FFII/Vrijschrift Letter to the Rapporteur European Parliament about the earlier version