The Dutch Lower House has backed a motion from the Green Left party which says the Netherlands should, for the time being, refrain from signing an international treaty designed to combat piracy and counterfeit trade on the Internet.
The motion says that there first needs to be clarity about whether the treaty threatens the rights and the privacy of Internet users.
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a treaty between the 27 EU Member States and ten other countries including the US, Canada and Japan. Last weekend, tens of thousands of Europeans in cities across Europe demonstrated against ACTA. They fear it will limit the freedom of internet use.
Some EU Member States have already ratified the treaty but others, including the Netherlands and Germany, have not yet done so. The Bulgarian government says it prefers to wait until the EU has agreed a common position for all 27 members.
(as/imm)
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