Accession to ACTA Agreement Makes No Difference to Bulgaria’s Legal Framework - Econ Min
Bulgaria's economy minister Traicho Traikov said that country's accession to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) will not bring any changes to Bulgaria's legal framework.
The ACTA agreement entails further commitments for the other signatories rather than for Bulgaria which is among the countries that to the largest extent meets its terms, Darik radio quoted Traikov as saying.
The ACTA agreement, which aims to establish international standards for the enforcement of intellectual property rights, was signed in Tokyo last week by 22 European Union member states, including Bulgaria. However, several other EU member states, Cyprus among them, opted not to join in.
Traikov's statement comes after news that Bulgaria had signed the agreement sparked a heated debate in the social networks and media and prompted the opposition right-wing Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) and the nationalist Ataka to call on the government to pull out of the agreement.
The agreement is pending ratification by Parliament.
Speaking before bTV on Wednesday morning, Traikov said Bulgaria may choose not to ratify the agreement, or to ratify it under certain conditions.