European Parliament resolution on the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights
Date: 2000-10-03
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

22.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 178/65

Tuesday 3 October 2000

18.
Urges the Commission and the Member States, within their respective areas of competence and in
consultation with the European Parliament, to consider measures to reduce the stigma of bankruptcy,
possibly including a moratorium on debt recovery where the liquidator determines that no fraudulent or
illegal practices were involved and the business in question can continue trading; calls on the Commission
to facilitate the sharing of best practice in this area, with a view to the elaboration of a recommendation;

19.
Urges the rapid adoption of the forthcoming Commission proposal for a Directive on the Commu-
nity Patent, and calls on the Commission to support the creation of an EU-wide online patents database
linked to the proposed risk capital website, and to launch an information campaign to provide SMEs with
information about the importance of securing patent protection for their designs and how to obtain a
patent;

20.
Asks the Commission and the Council to promote innovative software protection models such as
the General Public Licence in Europe in order to support the development of open source software and to
foster the provision of risk capital for entrepreneurs engaging in this field;

21.
States its concern about recent developments in patenting which either hinder the free circulation
of scientific information (patenting of data bases, mathematical formulae, software codes etc.) or patent
natural resources such as genes and plants without any innovative character;

22.

Calls on the Commission to develop risk capital initiatives in the accession countries;

23.
Calls on the Commission to bring forward by the end of 2000 a follow-up Communication on the
Implementation of the Risk Capital Action Plan, setting out the benchmarks agreed with Member States to
implement the Action Plan and proposals to ensure an integrated,
joined up approach to risk capital,
bringing together all Community instruments in a coherent manner; further calls on the Commission to
report back regularly to the European Parliament and the Council on progress made in reaching these
benchmarks and rationalising the EU framework for risk capital;

24.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.

10. Charter of fundamental rights

B5-0767/2000

European Parliament resolution on the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights

The European Parliament,

2 having regard to its resolution of 16 March 2000 on the drafting of a European Union Charter of

Fundamental Rights (1),

A. whereas the Convention retains sole responsibility for drafting the Charter up until the moment when

it is proclaimed,

Proposes, in line with the position it expounded when the Convention began its work, that, at its
1.
meeting in Biarritz, the European Council call on the Intergovernmental Conference to consider the text of
the Charter adopted by the Convention and ways of incorporating it into the Treaty with a view to a
decision being taken at the European Council meeting in Nice;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the governments and parliaments of

2.
the Member States, the Commission, the Convention and the other Community institutions.

(1)

‘Texts Adopted’, Item 4.