It’s a big day for the open Internet in Europe. After a five-year campaign to enact strong Net Neutrality rules across the continent, digital rights advocates finally got a vote in the European Parliament, which approved strong protections for a free and open Internet.

In a statement, Amelia Andersdotter, spokeswoman for the Greens/European Free Alliance partnership in Parliament, wrote, “Today’s vote would explicitly provide for Net Neutrality and will hopefully ensure a level playing field for all online services and users, providing for a more open Internet environment in which innovation is encouraged.”

The language adopted today includes a clear and binding definition of Net Neutrality and prohibitions against blocking, throttling and other forms of discrimination from Internet service providers.

The Parliament also rejected a so-called “specialized services” loophole. If that loophole had remained, ISPs would have been able to give content providers preferential treatment in exchange for cash (sound familiar?). Our friends at Access have more about the specifics.

Now that the European Parliament has approved this legislation — the “Telecoms Single Market” proposal — the next stop is the Council of the European Union, which must adopt the proposal for it to move forward.

Today’s news makes it clear that European leaders — along with millions around the world — recognize that Internet freedom depends on strong policies that protect our rights to connect and communicate. The FCC should take notice as it considers its next steps to restore Net Neutrality.