Donald Tusk Courtesy of Flickr/KPRM

On Friday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk completed the about-face his government had started on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

“I sent a letter today to all the party leaders who cooperate with the Civic Platform and the Polish People's Party in the European People's Party, including prime ministers, the [German] chancellor, presidents of some countries and the leadership of the European People's Party, with a proposal to reject ACTA in the shape that was negotiated by the European Commission,” Mr Tusk told a news conference Friday evening.

The PM admitted that the position prepared by Polish officials on ACTA over the last few months was “reckless.”

“I was wrong. … It would be a sin to maintain a mistaken belief … the agreement does not correspond to the reality of the 21st century. The battle for the right to property should also respect the right to freedom.”

On January 26, the European Commission and 22 EU countries – including Poland – signed the deal, joining Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the US. But ACTA also needs to be ratified by the European Parliament and by each of the 27 EU member states in order to be implemented in the EU.