Former Austrian Interior Minister and Euro MP Ernst Strasser has been sentenced to four years in jail after being convicted of bribe-taking.
The conservative Austrian People’s Party MP was exposed by reporters from the UK’s Sunday Times, who secretly filmed him while posing as lobbyists.
They showed him being offered a 100,000-euro ($130,000) annual payment in exchange for influencing EU legislation in the European Parliament.
Ernst Strasser, 56, denied any wrongdoing.
He said he had resigned to protect his party.
He said he had guessed that the “lobbyists” were fake, but had played along with the ruse in order to find out what was actually motivating the pair, who dined with him before the Sunday Times expose in March 2011.
Former Austrian Interior Minister and Euro MP Ernst Strasser has been sentenced to four years in jail after being convicted of bribe-taking
Presiding Judge Georg Olschak said he did not believe Ernst Strasser’s defence that he thought the journalists were US secret agents whom the politician had wanted to expose.
“That is probably one of the most outlandish things I have heard in my 20-year career,” said Judge Georg Olschak.
“You won’t find a single court in Austria to believe that argument.”
The judge told Ernst Strasser few people had damaged Austria’s reputation as much as he had.
Alexandra Maruna, for the prosecution, said Ernst Strasser had “massively harmed European politics” and deserved to be punished for abusing confidence in elected officials.
One of four MEPs caught up in a “cash-for-laws” scandal in 2011, he plans to appeal against the verdict.
Ernst Strasser served as Austrian interior minister from 2000 to 2004 and in the European Parliament from 2009 to 2011.
The European Parliament has voted yesterday to reject the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
The proposed agreement sought to curb piracy, but internet campaigners said it posed a threat to online freedoms.
The rejection vote followed a failed attempt to postpone the decision because of ongoing investigations into ACTA by the European Court of Justice.
Euro MP David Martin said: “It’s time to give [ACTA] its last rites.”
Twenty-two EU member states had signed the ACTA treaty – but it had not been formally ratified.
Outside the EU, the treaty also had the support of the US, Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea.
The European Parliament has voted yesterday to reject the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
However, following significant protests, several countries chose not to back it.
Wednesday’s vote is seen by most observers as the final blow to the treaty in its current form. It means no member states will be able to join the agreement.
A total of 478 MEPs voted against the deal, with 39 in favor. There were 165 abstentions.
EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said work on tackling piracy would continue.
“Today’s rejection does not change the fact that the European Commission has committed itself to seeking answers to the questions raised by the European public,” he said.
“The European Commission will continue to seek the legal opinion of the European Court of Justice on whether this agreement harms any of the fundamental rights of European citizens – including freedom of speech.
“European citizens have raised these concerns and now they have the right to receive answers. We must respect that right.”
As the decision was made, some of those in attendance held banners reading: “Hello democracy, goodbye ACTA.”
However, key players in the creative industries expressed frustration at the decision.
“ACTA is an important tool for promoting European jobs and intellectual property,” said Anne Bergman-Tahon, director of the Federation of European Publishers.
“Unfortunately the treaty got off on the wrong foot in the parliament, and the real and significant merits of the treaty did not prevail.”
Alan Drewsen, executive director of the International Trademark Association, warned that Europe could now be left behind when it comes to protecting intellectual property.
“Europe could have seized the chance to support an important treaty that improved intellectual property standards internationally,” he said.
“We expect that ACTA will move ahead without the EU, which is a significant loss for the 27 member states.”
What is ACTA?
• The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is an international treaty aiming to standardise copyright protection measures.
• It seeks to curb trade of counterfeit physical goods, including copyrighted material online.
• Deterrents include possible imprisonment and fines.
• Critics argue that it will stifle freedom of expression on the internet, and it has been likened to the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
• ACTA had been signed by 22 EU members but has now been rejected by the European Parliament.
