Disassociation

Arif resigned in protest on 26 January as the EU signed the treaty, saying that he wished to “denounce in the strongest manner the process that led to the signing of this agreement: no association of civil society [and] lack of transparency from the beginning”.

He said that it now threatens online freedom, access to the use of generic versions of drugs for treating illnesses, and could potentially mean that someone crossing a border who has a single song or film on their computer could face criminal charges.

Asked what he thought European citizens should do, Mr Arif said: “Showing that there is interest and concern about this agreement is the best way of creating a real public debate, which was never possible until now because of the lack of transparency on this dossier. Especially if the timeframe is short, raising awareness of members of parliament will be crucial. And because Acta is a mixed agreement, it will have to be ratified both by the European parliament and by every member state of the union, so there is also an opportunity to organise debates at the national level.”