The least we can say is that the first public speech by the new Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, did not go unnoticed. Before the Telecommunications Ministers on Tuesday 3 December, he said he would submit a new proposal on the regulation for the confidentiality of online communications, before qualifying his remarks at a press conference.
“In what I said, there is also the option for withdrawal. But today is too early. The only thing I am saying today is that there may be more differences than I thought”, he clarified at a press conference. Earlier, at the ministerial meeting, he said, in English: “I propose for the next presidency we will put a new proposal matching all your concerns and interest. There is an urgent need to move forward”.
On 22 November, the Committee of Permanent Representatives failed to agree on this text, which replaces the current directive on privacy and electronic communications (e-Privacy) in order to include call and instant messaging services, such as WhatsApp (see EUROPE 11700/1). At least 14 Member States opposed it (see EUROPE 12375/11).
Many of them reiterated their opposition during the round table discussion on 3 December, some even going so far as to call for the work to be restarted from scratch, as the industry has requested. This is the case for Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Belgium, France and Austria.
At a press conference, Thierry Breton invoked his “right to be surprised”. “I said two things: on one hand, I will go and see everyone to understand, including them. And then I said to the Croatian President: together, we will work and see what you want to do. I will be at his disposal. He will benefit from the fact that there is someone new in the system to see if we can find solutions, amend the text or be more radical”. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)