The last doubts are removed, the European Directive on copyright reform is adopted. The agreement as negotiated by the three institutions received formal approval from the European Ministers of Agriculture (see EUROPE 12222/6) on Monday 15 April.
Six countries voted against the text: Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Luxembourg, Poland, and Sweden. Three abstained: Belgium, Estonia, and Slovenia. But this was not enough to block the text; the threshold of 16 countries representing 65% of the population was largely exceeded (with 19 countries and 71.26%).
The text reinforces the obligations of content sharing platforms, such as YouTube or Facebook (see EUROPE 12193/18). It sets out the general principle that these actors must now be held responsible for content uploaded by their users, paving the way for legal action. To avoid this, the text instructs platforms to obtain the authorisation of the right holders and, if they are unable to do so, to remove the content and prevent its reappearance. It provides for exceptions for certain platforms, such as Wikipedia, or certain content, of 'similar' platforms. The new Directive also offers a new two-year protection for newspaper publishers who wish to monetize the use of their online content.
During the round table discussion, Poland denounced these two provisions, likening the first to a “dangerous mechanism that would make it possible to apply a form of censorship to the Internet” and the second to a new right that could “compromise the circulation of information”. Germany, which has seen many demonstrations against the text on its territory, also took the floor at length: “We support the adoption of the Directive [...] but regret that we have not reached a solution that is convincing for all parties”. They opposed “automatic deletions”.
The Commission welcomed this support, which marks the end of the adoption procedure (and brings the number of successful initiatives to 28 out of 30). “As far as the completion of the European digital single market is concerned, copyright reform is the missing piece of the puzzle”, said Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission. It now remains for Member States to transpose the text into national law before 2021. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)