MEP Marietje Schaake Explains How Europeans Can Stop ACTA

from the Techdirt don't-miss-it dept

As we've been discussing, there's been a lot of misinformation flying around concerning ACTA -- especially in the EU, where it has not yet been officially voted on. While we've tried to explain some of the problems with the agreement, there is still plenty of confusion over what to do about it. Thankfully, Marietje Schaake, a Member of the European Parliament (whose excellent work we've discussed before) has taken to Reddit to provide a lot more detail about the process itself, and what people can do to speak up. It's very useful info, especially for those in Europe (while also being a nice display of how politicians can use Reddit for good purposes). Basically, while ACTA has been signed by many members of the EU, it still needs to be ratified by the European Parliament. That's why there's still some time and why you should pay attention to what Schaake has to say. Here's a snippet:

So what can we do to stop ACTA?

If you are concerned about ACTA, you can convince the EP to vote against ACTA. In November 2010 we proposed an alternative resolution on ACTA, which intended to take away the main concerns. It was voted down by a very slight majority, please see here (the red section represents MEPs voting against our resolution). As you can see, the difference is only 16 votes, out of 736 (or 754 as it stands now). Another text was then voted in favour, which said the Commission should carry on its negotiations.

If you are concerned about ACTA, contact MEPs (from your country or political party), especially targeting the ones who are in the committees who will vote on ACTA in the coming months. You can find their email addresses on the EP website. Perhaps it won't have to come to a blackout!

She even includes a TL;DR version (it's so nice when politicians actually understand how the internet works). And, because that's all people want anyway, here's that one, too:

TL;DR: Important dates for ACTA in the European Parliament:
- 29 February/1 March: Discussion in international trade committee,
- April or May: Vote in international trade committee,
- 12, 13 or 14 June: Final vote in plenary (most important vote).
(Please note, all dates may be changed)

Source