Representatives of the European Parliament, Council of Ministers and European Commission met for the third time on 30 January to discuss the draft directive on the supply of digital content. The meeting reached a provisional agreement on the right of cancellation (Article 13) and conditions for amending content (Article 15).
Technical meetings are scheduled for 2, 26 and 28 February before a fourth trialogue between Parliament, the Council and the European Commission on 6 March.
The draft legislation aims to fully harmonise a series of rules on conformity of digital content, how consumers can be compensated for digital content failing to comply with the contract, and questions relating to the right to cancel a long-term contract and amend digital content. The Council adopted its negotiating position on 8 June and the European Parliament on 21 November.
During the meeting on 30 January, the negotiators addressed Article 9 (traders’ responsibility) and Articles 13 to 16 (consumers’ rights and obligations). While they have advanced quite far, the talks broke down over the most controversial issues left hanging, namely the level of harmonisation and whether or not the legislation should include integrated content. For example, they more or less reached agreement on the right of cancellation (Article 13) without deciding on how tangible support, such as CDs, DVDs and smart objects, were to be dealt with.
Otherwise, the co-legislators made progress on Article 15 (amending digital content) based on a draft compromise presented by the European Commission. The EU is reported to have agreed to scrap the reference to ‘minor failure to comply.’ The negotiators are awaiting a compromise proposal from the Commission on Article 16 (the right to cancel long-term contracts). During the meeting, the Council is reported to have confirmed its desire to scrap Article 14, which establishes a new right to interest and damages in the event of failure to comply, and replace it with a recital, but Parliament opposes this, so the matter has been left hanging. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)