The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement(ACTA)has been rejected by the European Parliament and cannot become law in the EU.
This was the first time that Parliament exercised its Lisbon Treaty power to reject an international trade agreement.478 MEPs voted against ACTA,39 in favour,and 165 abstained.
Parliament was asked to delay the final vote until the European Court of Justice has ruled on whether ACTA is compatible with the EU treaties.However,a majority of MEPs rejected this request.
A substantial minority responded by abstaining in the vote on Parliament's consent.
The European parliament experienced unprecedented direct lobbying against the bill,says the EU.
Parliament also received a petition,signed by 2.8m people urging it to reject the agreement.
ACTA was negotiated by the EU and its member states,the US,Australia,Canada,Japan,Mexico,Morocco,New Zealand,Singapore,South Korea and Switzerland to improve the enforcement of anti-counterfeiting law internationally.
The vote means that neither the EU nor its individual member states can join the agreement.
