Member States' ambassadors to the EU on Wednesday 20 February endorsed the interim agreement on copyright reform that pushes platforms to conclude licence agreements or to put in place filtering measures unless otherwise agreed.
The qualified majority was easily achieved: 21 Member States representing 73.5% of the population of the European Union voted in favour of the agreement. Italy, Poland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Finland voted against. Belgium and Slovenia abstained. In a joint statement, the countries that voted against the agreement explain that, for them, the directive does not strike the right balance between the protection of rights holders and the interests of EU citizens and businesses. “This may therefore hinder innovation rather than promoting it and could have a negative impact on the competitiveness of the European digital single market. In addition, we believe that the directive lacks legal clarity, will create legal uncertainty for many relevant stakeholders and could affect the rights of EU citizens”, the five countries say.
According to one observer, Germany allegedly criticised the provisions of Article 13, as did Sweden for those of Article 11 (which do not include an originality criterion). Nevertheless, both countries ended up voting in favour of the text.
The focus is now on the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs, which is expected to vote on 26 February. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)