The only further point to add is that every National Minister within the Council of Ministers has a veto on any council vote. This means that it only takes one minister to decide that the Council decision is wrong and apply the veto, thus sending it back to the Euro Parliament Chamber (where the majority voted against software patents) for further discussion. Should this happen often enough the proposal will be "parked" for an alloted space of time and then discussed again or thrown out.
Should this happen the current status quo regarding "enforcement" of software patents (i.e. it cannot be done in the EU) would remain and software would effectively be free from direct patents.
Slashdot Mirror
The only further point to add is that every National Minister within the Council of Ministers has a veto on any council vote. This means that it only takes one minister to decide that the Council decision is wrong and apply the veto, thus sending it back to the Euro Parliament Chamber (where the majority voted against software patents) for further discussion. Should this happen often enough the proposal will be "parked" for an alloted space of time and then discussed again or thrown out.
Should this happen the current status quo regarding "enforcement" of software patents (i.e. it cannot be done in the EU) would remain and software would effectively be free from direct patents.