ACTA to be Voted on Tomorrow in Europe

[One Punch Doug Crashin]

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is suppose to be voted on tomorrow in the European parliament. Many observers are saying that it is looking very doubtful that the controversial agreement will survive, but opponents to the agreement are taking no chances and are urging European citizens to help fuel the final push to defeat ACTA once and for all.

Whether you are for or against ACTA, one thing is clear for everyone who is watching this – this is going to be a vote that is years in the making and could easily affect the future of the agreement on the world stage as well.
Last month, the International Trade committee (INTA) made a critical vote on the agreement and ultimately voted to recommend against ratification. It marked the fifth out of five committees recommending against ratification. Some observers say that this effectively makes the recommendation unanimous in that Europe should not ratify ACTA.
After that critical vote that led to the negative vote on ACTA, Europeans celebrated what some have called a “victory for European democracy”.
Still, the battle is far from over. Unless some sort of procedural maneuver is successful in delaying the vote (at this point, it almost seems like this would be the only thing that will save the agreement in Europe at this point – even if only temporarily), the vote on whether to ratify or reject the agreement is going to be taking place tomorrow. While supporters of the agreement may be holding their collective breaths while praying for some sort of unforeseen miracle, ACTA opponents are taking no chances and are urging European citizens to contact their representatives and tell them to oppose the agreement.
The Open Rights Group has posted some information about all of this. From the Open Rights Group:

The vote on Wednesday is the most important. The decision of the European Parliament will determine whether ACTA becomes binding upon the 27 EU Members States. The European Parliament can vote to oppose, approve, or refer the matter to the European Court of Justice, but it cannot alter the content of the treaty.
[...]
What do I need to do?
The decisions of the five Committees were, quite rightly, heavily influenced by the many people across Europe who contacted their MEPs to explain the problems with ACTA. The vote in the European Parliament will be no different.
For what is hopefully the last time, we’re asking you to get in touch with your MEP and explain to them how ACTA is flawed, how you want them to vote, and why.
Who is my MEP?
We’ve listed the names and contact details for each of the 78 MEPs representing constituents within the United Kingdom. Find yours below, and give them a call!
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The posting also lists the MEPs (Member of European Parliament), their party affiliations, contact information and their position on ACTA. The posting is certainly quite informative and I would recommend Europeans check out the posting if they haven’t already.
Once again, we seem to be on the verge of, yet, another critical vote on the agreement. This time, the upcoming vote is the most important and, unlike the last committee vote which was suppose to be close, observers seem more confident that ACTA is going to get rejected.
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Drew Wilson
Drew Wilson is perhaps one of the more well-known file-sharing and technology news writers around. A journalist in the field since 2005, his work has had semi-regular appearances on social news websites and even occasional appearances on major news outlets as well. With journalism techniques he's been able to pioneer in the business (such as coverage in Canada and in non-English countries), he has the skills to be at the forefront of file-sharing and technology news. Twitter | Google Plus

Good luck! This was posted on Zeropaid.