The European software patent vote

The European software patent vote

Posted Sep 25, 2003 4:45 UTC (Thu) by jdthood (guest, #4157)
Parent article: The European software patent vote

Thanks to LWN for pulling together this summary in the hours before
publication.

> EC Commissioner Frits Bolkestein issued a not-too-veiled threat
> to remove parliament from the process entirely

This threat has to be taken seriously; the European Parliament is
still a weak institution. However, it won't become stronger if it
gives in to this sort of pressure. The Council of Ministers and the
Commission may bypass the Parliament on this issue, but it remains
very important that the Parliament maintained its integrity. It is
important that the most democratically legitimate EU institution
shares (to some extent) the ideals of the free software movement.

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