Reject ACTA, European Parliament Trade Committee Recommends 24
Qedward writes "The European Parliament's trade committee, INTA, voted on Thursday not to postpone a crucial parliamentary vote on the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The committee also decided, by 19 votes to 12, to recommend to the Parliament that the trade deal be rejected. INTA is the lead committee examining the international agreement, and its recommendation will carry weight with the rest of the Parliament. The Parliamentary plenary vote on the treaty is now scheduled for July 3."
Re:this depends on honesty (Score:4, Informative)
It was the European Commission who urged the parliament to vote in secret. The European Commission is pushing ACTA, and the parliament is standing up against them. In the press conference after the vote, MEP Amelia Andersdotter of the pirate party actually slammed the commission for trying to interfere with the democratic process at the European Parliament.
This is a great day for European democracy.
Re:this depends on honesty (Score:3, Informative)
It was the European Commission who urged the parliament to vote in secret.
Both the parent and the grand parent are wrong.
First of all, the request for a secret vote was about the vote that took place today, in the INTA (trade) Committee. It's not about the plenary vote, which cannot be secret.
Secondly, the initiative to make the vote secret came from a number of pro-ACTA members of the European Parliament, not from the Commission.