EU Vote On ACTA Soon To Take Place

June 18, 2012 by
Filed under: Announcements & Events, Legal P2P News & Issues 

According to a recent report, the European Parliament’s International Affairs vote on ACTA could be decisive. The vote is scheduled for June 21, 2012.

While many have been certain that ACTA is going to be shelved for good, a report says different, warning that the vote at the International Affairs Committee could be decisive.

Since its launch, ACTA had several setbacks, starting with the rejection of the agreement by four European committees and continuing with world-wide protests against it.

As for its supporters, the Motion Picture Association is pleading the European government to approve the agreement, while arguing that ACTA’s criticism is overzealous and fails to understand the importance of it.

If the European Parliament’s International Affairs votes “yes”, the bill could reborn from its ashes.

From EUObserver we find out that:

David Martin, the British centre-left MEP tasked with drafting Parliament’s response on Acta, is urging the committee to reject the deal. However parliament sources suggested that the vote could be tighter than previously thought.

Both the center-right EPP group, which is comfortably the largest party group in Parliament, and the eurosceptic ECR group, are proposing rival amendments to keep ACTA alive. A full Parliamentary vote in Strasbourg would then be held in July.

Although Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes appeared to admit defeat on Acta during a speech on internet freedom in Berlin last month, MEPs have come under mounting pressure from the commission and pro-Acta lobby groups over the last month to delay their decision until the European Court of Justice (ECJ) releases its legal opinion on the treaty.

The article continues on debating the aspects of ACTA as seen by both supporters and opponents.

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