Voting Behaviour of Members of the European Parliament regarding the European Union International Trade Agreements: Why did the European Parliament Reject the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement?

Empirical research has yet fully to explain what determine the voting behaviour of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). This article serves to bridge the gap in our understanding by analysing three roll-call votes related to the ACTA in the European Parliament. In particular, do MEPs vote along the national economic interests, according to their personal ideological preferences or along the ideologies of European political groups? This study confirms that political ideologies and political parties, rather than the economic interests, are better explanations for the MEPs’ decision on the ACTA. However, it also points out that MEPs from a country whose citizens show much interest in the ACTA, as per Google searches, are more likely to vote against the ACTA. In sum, voting behaviour of MEPs regarding the ACTA cannot simply be explained by the left-right politics.