In October, 2014 the European Commission formally asked for authorization from the Council and the European Parliament to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty for the right to read of blind and other visually impaired persons.Nevertheless, the ratification process has been blocked because a number of EU member states reject accepting EU competence over the ratification of the treaty despite the fact that both Commission and Council legal service opinions and European Court case law clearly confirm exclusive EU competence over this issue. If authorization of EU ratification is not accepted by EU member states, it will take many years before the Treaty is ratified and implemented. The European Commission is considering sending the competence issue to the European Court of Justice for judgment.Blind people, MEPs, the European Commission and other stakeholders will discuss the meaning of this landmark treaty for human rights and will urge swift ratification and implementation by the EU and its member states.Please join the debate on Twitter using #ratifyMarrakeshNowProgrammeWelcoming remarks by Enrico GASBARRA (S&D, IT) & Max ANDERSSON (Greens/EFA, SE)  Why the EU should ratify the Marrakesh Treaty now and how to make it happen-      Wolfgang Angermann, President, European Blind Union-      Yannis Vardakastanis, President, European Disability Forum-      Anna Herold, member of the cabinet responsible for copyright of Gunther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Digital Economy & Society-      Jasmin Battista, member of the cabinet of Andrus Ansip, Vice-President, European Commissioner responsible for Digital Single Market-      Pavel Svoboda (EPP, CZ), Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI)-      Kostadinka Kuneva (GUE/NGL, EL), member of the Disability IntergroupQ & AModerated by: David Hammerstein, senior policy advocate, TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD)Closing remarks by Dieter-Lebrecht KOCH (EPP, DE) & Juan Carlos GIRAUTA (ALDE, ES)RegistrationShould you require a security badge to enter the European Parliament, please RSVP to ratify.tvinow (at) gmail.com stating your full name, identity card/passport number, date of birth and nationality. Badges will be handed out 45 minutes before start of the event at the Spinelli entrance of the European Parliament (place Luxembourg side). Light lunch will be served outside the conference room starting at 12:30Sponsoring MEPs: Dieter-Lebrecht KOCH (EPP, DE), Enrico GASBARRA (S&D, IT), Juan Carlos GIRAUTA (ALDE, ES), Max ANDERSSON (Greens/EFA, SE)Co-organisers:Trans-Atlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD)European Blind Union (EBU)European Disability Forum (EDF)World Blind Union (WBU)