Brussels, 13/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European delegation to the Internet Governance Forum, which was held in Joao Pessoa (Brazil) from 10 to 13 November, argued in favour of an “open, independent and non-discriminatory” Internet.
This declaration, which was co-signed on Thursday 12 November by the Vice-President of the European Commission, Andrus Ansip, and ten members of the European Parliament, comes hot on the heels of the final vote of the EP on the 'telecommunications' package, which scraps roaming charges from 2017 and brings in the principles of net neutrality (see EUROPE 11419).
More specifically, the joint declaration calls for: - improved Internet access all over the world; - an open and independent Internet as a global, common resource, together with non-discriminatory access to knowledge; - and the need to find solutions related to cyber security and cyber crimes, via solutions to improve the security of critical infrastructures and giving the appropriate tools for secure communication to individuals and small businesses.
The document also calls for the Forum's mandate to be renewed, for its resources to be increased and for the fundamental freedoms and human rights to be protected “both online and off-line”.
The MEPs who signed the declaration are: Julia Reda (Greens/EFA, Germany), Josef Weidenholzer (S&D, Austria), Julie Ward (S&D, UK), Carlos Zorrinho (S&D, Portugal), David Borrelli (EFDD, Italy), Sabine Verheyen (EPP, Germany), Therese Comodini-Cachia (EPP, Malta), Michal Boni (EPP, Poland), Eva Kaili (S&D, Greece) and Marietje Schaake (ALDE, Netherlands). (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)