# EU, democracy **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 20, 2012, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-democracy/616293 "2012-03-20T07:56:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-democracy/616293/1 "2012-03-20T07:56:31Z")
> **[European Parliament Blocks Copyright Reform With 113% Voter Turnout](http://falkvinge.net/2012/03/14/european-parliament-blocks-copyright-reform-with-113-voter-turnout/)** > > In an unexpected turn of events, one of the key committees in the European Parliament voted recently to weaken a reform of the copyright... So the committee looking at copyright reform for a bill to be put before the European Parliament voted to neuter it. Got rid of the most important provisions regarding orphan works and so on. The vote was fraudulent. More members of the committee voted than atually existed. And the margin of the fraud is greater than the margin of the victory in removing these provisions. A committee member from the PIrate Party wanted the vote repeated but was denied. That’s how democracy works for our continental overlords. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-democracy/616293/2 "2012-03-20T13:24:10Z")
Yeah right :dubious: I’ll believe this when people other than someone from the Pirate Party start writing about it. Oh, and since we’re in the Pit: stop spreading dumbass lies, dumbass - the democratic deficit in the EU is bad enough as it is without people spreading random hoaxes about it. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-democracy/616293/3 "2012-03-22T00:14:03Z")
Pirate Party? ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-democracy/616293/4 "2012-03-22T00:24:57Z")
[Pirate Party](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_Parties_International). Efficient systems of distribution and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-democracy/616293/5 "2012-03-22T00:26:30Z")
I am very disappointed to learn they are not actual pirates. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-democracy/616293/6 "2012-03-22T01:45:21Z")
Gods, I wish we had a Pirate Party! 😛 -XT ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-democracy/616293/7 "2012-03-22T05:16:45Z")
I go to annual pirate parties. October 31st. Highly recommended. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-democracy/616293/8 "2012-03-22T12:42:24Z")
[Here’s another story which claims the OP is at least partially correct](http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2012/march/orphan-works-reforms-approved-by-european-parliament-committee-amidst-apparent-voting-irregularities/) and refers to voting “voting irregularities”. Apparently votes were taken at least 3 amendments in the same session, and the total votes for each were different, and they all received more votes than the actual number of committee people who were present. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-democracy/616293/9 "2012-03-22T13:15:16Z")
Do they allow proxy voting? If so then it wouldn’t be that much of a mystery. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-democracy/616293/10 "2012-03-23T03:35:29Z")
Jeez, what a clusterfuck. I believe almost anything about the EU these days. Just more evidence my ancestors had the right idea when they decided to leave. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-democracy/616293/11 "2012-03-23T17:01:05Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Pirate Party? Currently chaired by Samir Allioui (ARR-Netherlands). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-democracy/616293/12 "2012-03-23T18:17:05Z")
> [@Lizard](#): > > Jeez, what a clusterfuck. I believe almost anything about the EU these days. Just more evidence my ancestors had the right idea when they decided to leave. What are you, five? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eu-democracy/616293/13 "2012-03-24T00:56:16Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Do they allow proxy voting? If so then it wouldn’t be that much of a mystery. > > -XT Can’t be that. There were more votes counted them there are committee members. The count would have been wrong even if every single member was present.