[Fwd: Re: Brinkhorst said Danish minister didn't really try]

[Erik Josefsson <sslug@sslug>]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Brinkhorst said Danish minister didn't really try
Date: Tue, 08 Mar 2005 21:28:35 +0100
From: Arend Lammertink <sslug@sslug>
To: Erik Josefsson <sslug@sslug>
CC: sslug@sslug, sslug@sslug
References: <sslug@sslug> 
<sslug@sslug>

Erik Josefsson wrote:

> some more points would be very useful
>
> Ante Wessels wrote:
>
> > In a debate here, minister Brinkhorst said Danish minister didn't 
> > really try.
> > Video + audio (178M)
> > http://media.vrijschrift.org/kamerdebat-so20050308.asf
> >
> > vriendelijke groet,
> > cordialmente,

This is what WebWereld made of it:

http://www.webwereld.nl/nieuws/20983.phtml

(quick & dirty translation)

Brinkhorst in trouble due to software patents


Minister Brinkhorst (economic affairs) is threathened to get into
trouble due to the debate abour software patents.


MPs of the left-wing opposition asked questions tuesday afternoon about
Brinkhorst's report of the negotiations/taks that took place monday in
the council.


According to Brinkhorst it was not true that Denmark had requested
renegotiation at the European Top (In Euro-language : to make it a
B-item). Denmark had thought about that, but did not do anything with
this idea, according to Brinkhorst. "Denmark left the church before
singing". (note: that's a Dutch saying meaning of what's scientifically
called "coitus interruptus").

MPs Arda Gerkens (Socialists), Kees Vendrik (greens) and Martijn van Dam
(social democrats) got a totally different impression, based on an
unofficial transcript.
According to this transcript, Denmark would indeed have asked to put
softwarepatents as a B-item on the agenda. Denmark would not have
recieved support from The Netherlands.

The Dutch government should have don that, thinks Gerkens. "The Tweede
Kamer has ordered to do that", says the MP. "And I can know it, I filed
the motion myself."

Stampvoeten -> stamp feeting

On request of the Tweede Kamer, there will be an official transcript of
the meeting of monday. "We will put that tekst next to the declarations
of the Minister today. "And if it turns out that those two do not match,
the minister has a lot to explain."

Misinforming the Tweede Kamer is considered a political death-sin in
political The Hague : a reason to resign. The chance that the Tweede
Kamer will actually force Brinkhorst to resign, seems to be very slim.
The minister can at this moment count on the support of the coalition
parties CDA, VVD and D66.


MP Bert Bakker, just as Brinkhorst of D66, already expressed his
dissatisfaction  about al the criticism of the Tweede Kamer. "It does
not look fruitful to start stampeeding procedurally for the n-th time",
he said to his colleagues. "Lets better make sure that trought the
European lawmaking process a good directive comes out after all."


Desalniettemin lijkt het voor de hand te liggen dat de linkse oppositie
een motie zal indienen tegen Brinkhorst. Vendrik (GroenLinks) denkt aan
een motie van ongenoegen. "Die mag de minister beschouwen als een zware
gele kaart."

Nonetheless, it can be expected that the leftwing opposition will file a
motion against Brinkhorst. Vendrik (Groenlinks) thinks about a motion of
dissatisfaction. "The minister can regard that as a black yellow card."
< but it will have no real consequences, AFAIK >

"From the events of the last days it becomes clear once more that the
Dutch government does not take the parliament seriously", says Vendrik.
"The matters is really to cry about".

Press-trough




De Tweede-Kamerleden waren dinsdag tijdens het spoeddebat unaniem in hun
veroordeling van de ontstane situatie. "Dit is geen fraai staaltje
geweest van Europese democratie", gaf ook Bakker toe. "Luxemburg heeft
het voorstel voor de softwarepatenten doorgedrukt", constateerde Margot
Kraneveldt (LPF). "Waarin een klein land klein kan zijn." Van Dam sprak
van een 'deuk in het vertrouwen van de democratie in Europa'.

The MPs were tuesday during the emergency debate unanimous in their
condemn of the situaion risen. "This is not a nice example of European
Democracy", Bakker admints. "LUX pressed trough the proposal of the
softwarepatents", notes Margot Kraneveldt (LPF - List Pim Fortuyn). "How
a small country can be small." Van Dam talked about a <deuk> in the
trust of European democracy.


Brinhorst was the only one thinking that it was no black day for
European democracy and the software innovation. "That's <apekool>" <no
idea what apekool is. Seems to have something to do with a monkey>
The minster was happy that the European council finally adopted the
directive. "Now finally, the debate on the content can take place."

The directive now goes back to EP - bla bla.

The critics by the parliament touched Brinkhorst. Especially a remark by
Gerkens and Vendrik that the sound dropped when Brinkhorst spoke monday,
made him angry.

The suggestion that this might have been on purpose, he called "to
ridicule for words." "Where do you get that nonsense from?"
Brinkhorst had only just said that or Arend Lammertink of Vrijschift.nl
(a group of swpat opponents) sent a couple of journalists the proof that
she sound did indeed drop.

(with a link to http://media.ffii.org/Council050307/ )




Pleas note: this is a rough translation of a copyrighted article. Not
suitable for publication on the website!


-- Arend --