Technical discussions in the EU Council on the draft regulation on the confidentiality of electronic communications (e-privacy) are not yet sufficiently advanced for the matter to be taken up at political level. Contrary to what was envisaged, for the time being, no vote is foreseen at national ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) level (see EUROPE 12351/8).
"The main challenges remain the sections on child pornography, scope and cookies", notes a European diplomat. A further technical discussion is expected on 7 November. It will be based on a new compromise text, dated 30 October, which puts forward several options on the issue of 'scope' (and the issue of data storage) and on the concept of 'third party' (the distinction to be made with service providers).
For almost 3 years now Member State experts have been discussing this text, which modernises European rules on the confidentiality of online exchanges by including, in particular, operators circumventing the provisions such as Skype or WhatsApp (see EUROPE 11700/1). However, despite pressure from the European Parliament, which has been ready to enter into negotiations since the end of 2017, Member States have not been able to adopt a common position (see EUROPE 11892/6, 12322/13).
Link to the new text: http://bit.ly/33lSXY8 (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)