The EU has canceled the latest trilogue on the proposed copyright reform, after the member states were unable to reach agreement on a compromise text, Politico reports. The European Commission, Parliament and Council were scheduled to meet on 20 January to discuss the legislation. However, the Romanian presidency of the EU canceled the trilogue after an almost 10-hour meeting of EU ambassadors.
A large minority of EU states told Romania the meeting should not go ahead because they could not approve the updated negotiating mandate. The national governments failed to agree on a common position on the two most controversial articles, Article 11, also known as the link tax, and Article 13, which would require online platforms to use upload filters in an attempt to prevent copyright infringement, reports MEP Julia Reda in a blog post.
A total of 11 countries voted against the compromise text proposed by the Romanian Council presidency: Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland and Slovenia, who already opposed a previous version of the directive, as well as Italy, Poland, Sweden, Croatia, Luxembourg and Portugal. With the exception of Portugal and Croatia, all of these governments are known for thinking that either Article 11 or Article 13 do not sufficiently protect user rights.
A new trilogue has yet to be scheduled.
