The European Commission has urged MEPs to wait for the legal opinion of the European Court of Justice before deciding on the ratification of the controversial Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement (ACTA).

Following the official submission by the Commission last week of a referral to the ECJ on the legality of ACTA, it seems that a row is brewing with the European Parliament, particularly with Socialist and Green MEPs who seem determined to vote against the treaty in a few months time before the court is given the chance to come out with its opinion.

Giving the latest update on the Commission’s action on ACTA, European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said that the European Union is founded on respect for the rule of law and considering that tens of thousands of people have voiced their concerns about ACTA, it is appropriate to give the EU’s highest independent judicial body the time to deliver its legal opinion on this agreement.

“This is an important input to European public and democratic debate. I therefore hope that the European Parliament will respect the European Court of Justice and await its opinion before determining its own position on ACTA”.

This latest development comes after a rejection by the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee in March to submit its own referral to the ECJ.

Despite the suggestion that the European Parliament should also independently ask for the opinion of the ECJ, the majority of MEPs on the committee decided that this was not necessary and that Parliament should decide as soon as possible.

The committee’s decision, which will now be put to a vote of the plenary in May, means that if adopted, MEPs will not await the ECJ’s opinion and will go ahead with the decision on the agreement’s ratification, possibly by the beginning of the summer.

Normally in similar cases, the ECJ takes up to 18 months to deliver its opinion. A negative vote by the European Parliament will nullify the agreement and render the Commission’s and the ECJ’s opinion futile.

European Parliament sources told The Times that Parliament’s decision now depends on the position to be taken by the European People’s Party and the Liberals, which together can sway the vote in favour of their position.

However, so far, both groups have not taken any concrete position. On the other hand, most of the 22 EU member states who have initiated the agreement, including Malta, have already declared that they will now await the outcome of the decision by the European Parliament and the ECJ before they continue with their individual ratification process.

The legal submission agreed by the Commission is a broad legal question which will allow the ECJ a detailed examination of whether ACTA is in line with European Fundamental Rights such as the freedom of expression and information or data protection and the right to property including that of intellectual property.

The question submitted is: “Is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) compatible with the European Treaties, in particular with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union?”