The European Telecommunications Ministers held a rapid exchange of views on Friday 7 June in Luxembourg on the progress of work at the EU Council concerning the confidentiality of electronic communications. Germany took the opportunity to indicate that it did not agree with the direction of the discussions.
Despite numerous attempts, made tangible in the form of four separate draft compromises, the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council failed to reach political agreement by the Member States on this draft Regulation aimed at modernising European rules on the confidentiality of online communications by including operators by circumvention (see EUROPE 11700/1).
During the round table, Ireland and the United Kingdom, opposed to too much regulation, mentioned some progress. Dublin reiterated the need to not hinder the fight against child pornography. For its part, London called for a clearer link between the text under discussion and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a more precise definition of the services covered and the adoption of a risk approach.
Germany, for its part, criticised the turn of events: it stated that there was insufficient consumer protection. It also regretted the overly vague definitions, such as the one on consent, and the deletion of Article 10, which requires providers of electronic communications software to help the end user choose his or her privacy settings effectively. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)