Paris, France and Firenze, Italy, Friday, January 8th, 2010. Press Release.
An intergroup1 on "New Media, Free Software and Open Information Society" was established in the European Parliament with the support of a wide range of political groups (EPP, ALDE/ADLE and Greens/EFA). Free Software promoters April (FR) and Associazione per il Software Libero (IT) welcome this decision that opens up the European Parliament to embracing the digital revolution.
Intergroups are places where MEPs can work on subjects and debate without considerations of political parties nor committee competence. For Free Software promoters, the creation of this intergroup enables naturally transversal information society issues to be more widely debated within the European Parliament.
"The attention and committment of many MEPs, especially Free Software Pact signatories2, made possible this important step towards the establishment of policies that foster free software, net neutrality and knowledge sharing in order to build an open information society" said Marco Ciurcina, president of Associazione per il Software Libero.
"This intergroup shows that MEPs' awareness of digital commons is growing. This encourages us to continue raising our representatives' awareness through the Free Software Pact" said Benoît Sibaud, president of April. "We are more than ever willing to support MEPs into helping the European Union embrace the digital revolution in the best interest of its people."
April and Associazione per il Software Libero invite all signatories of the Free Software Pact, and more generally all MEPs willing to support Free Software and an open information society, to join this intergroup.
About April
Pioneer of free software in France, April has been since 1996 a major player in the democratization and the spread of Free Software and open standards to the general public, professionals and institutions in the French-speaking world. In the digital era that is ours, it also aims to inform the public on the dangers of an exclusive appropriation of information an knowledge by private interests.
The association is made up of more than 5300 Free Software authors and users.
Contact: Alix Cazenave, public affairs | acazenave@april.org [5] | +33 1 78 76 92 80
About Associazione per il Software Libero
Associazione per il Software Libero (Assoli) is a non-profit organization established in the year 2000 to promote freedom in the use of computer programs and to defend the rights of Free Software users. To achieve its goals, the Association promotes the development and use of Free Software in the Public Administration, schools, public and private companies, and in all domains of society. In recent years the Association has performed some campaigns as well as legal proceedings, and it has interacted with the Public Administration to promote public policies in favour of Free Software.
Contact: email: info@softwarelibero.it [6] | Phone: (+39) 06 99291342 | Telefax: (+39) 06 83391642
- 1. Intergroups are established in application of rule of procedure #32 [7]. For further information on intergroups, please visit Intergroups: MEPs unite on single issues across party lines [8] on the European Parliament's website.
- 2. 34 elected signatories from 7 member states and belonging to 6 different political groups. View elected signatories [9]. Read more about the Free Software Pact [10].