EU may reject ACTA

04-18-2012 • http://rt.com

The controversial pan-global anti-piracy agreement, ACTA, may soon be dead in the water. The Member of the European Parliament responsible for monitoring its progress through the European Union says it should be rejected.

The pact sparked anger among Europeans, with thousands protesting against giving big firms the power to ban people from using the Internet for illegally swapping files. Twenty-two countries in the bloc signed up to the agreement, with a vote on its ratification due this summer in Brussels.

Political commentator Luke Samuel told RT that the treaty exposed how undemocratic the decision-making process is in the EU.

“The real problem with ACTA, specifically, is how it shows that the European Union is effectively allowed to do politics without any reference to [its people],” he said. “This is not a piece of EU law, it’s a trade agreement that will bestow certain obligations on European countries to make law in certain ways.”