Question for written answer E-009978/2012 to the Commission Rule 117 (Verts/ALE)

Subject: EU co-ordination and common EU position in the World Organisation on the issue of granting observer status to international and EU wide NGOs

At the 50th Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO, held in Geneva on 1 to 9 October 2012, the approval of a request submitted in May 2012 by an international and EU-wide NGO, International, was postponed until 2013.

As the meetings lacked the we have come to expect from international fora with EU participation, the reasons for this decision come only from information given by other observers and are based on the fact that the said NGO has members which are political parties. The main opposition came from the USA, and also from France, while some EU Member States raised concerns that double standards are being used or foreseen in order to prevent transparency, with the potential to harm the interests of an EU-based NGO and of European citizens.

As the EU is represented in WIPO through the Permanent Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations Office and to other international organisations in Geneva, with the declared purpose of fostering EU co-ordination and common EU positions, can the Commission answer the following questions:

1. What measures are being taken to ensure a common EU position on the acceptance of the EU- based NGO Pirate Party International as an observer in WIPO?

2. What is the Commission’s position on the proposed idea of having different criteria for accession to WIPO observer status for NGOs representing political groups?

3. Where does the Commission publish information on the proceedings of WIPO at which it participates as an observer?

917720.EN PE 499.797