Romania to hold off on ACTA ratification until EU ruling

(BUCHAREST) - Romania said Thursday it will refrain from ratifying the controversial anti-online piracy treaty ACTA until the European Court of Justice has ruled on it.

"We took into account the international developements as several countries decided to suspend ratification and as the European Commission asked the EU's highest court to rule on the legality of the treaty," governement spokesman Dan Suciu said.

Romania signed ACTA in January but has not ratified it and earlier this month thousands of people joined a protest against the pact.

Twenty-two EU states as well as other countries including the United States and Japan signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) last month but the treaty has yet to be ratified.

ACTA aims to beef up international standards for intellectual property protection. But fears it may curtail online freedoms by attacking illegal downloading and file-sharing have sparked angry protests from Internet users across Europe.