The Member States of the European Union reached a qualified majority agreement on Tuesday 13 December on the draft regulation to bring more transparency and control to political advertising, especially online.
“It was not an easy task, but the text on the table is balanced”, said Czech Minister for European Affairs Mikuláš Bek after the General Affairs Council.
The legislative proposal will introduce high standards of transparency for political advertising in the EU, limit the use of targeted advertising for political purposes and facilitate the cross-border provision and monitoring of political advertising services (see EUROPE 13052/21). It will contribute to the fight against disinformation and interference in elections, complementing other legislation (DSA/DMA, Audiovisual Media Services Directive).
The protection of citizens’ personal data was addressed in the public debate. “Increased protection [of citizens] is better than the status quo”, Mr Bek observed. According to him, the Czech compromise proposal on the table is “more ambitious” than the initial proposal regarding the processing of personal data, since it prohibits the exploitation of the data of minors.
Supported by several countries, Germany nevertheless made a declaration regarding wishing to go further in the protection of personal data.
France also made a declaration on the specificity of its electoral system, which prohibits commercial advertising for political purposes six months before an election.
Austria abstained, arguing that the European legislator should first regulate the activities of the authors of political advertisements before those of the messengers.
Opposed to the ‘internal market’ legal basis of the text, Hungary voted against the compromise proposal. It also invoked the principle of subsidiarity.
Negotiations with the European Parliament will start when it is ready to negotiate, with the aim of having the rules apply to the European elections in spring 2024.
See the agreed compromise text: https://aeur.eu/f/4mg (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)