EWCs: No progress in revised directive talks

Trilogue negotiations on EWC Directive appear stalled over Parliament demands for injunctions and GDPR-size fines, which both the EU Council and Commission have already ruled out. Next round of talks is scheduled for May 6.

Key points: Trilogue negotiations on the EWC Directive revision appear to have again stalled. While the European Parliament side demands include injunctions and GDPR-level fines, both Council and Commission have ruled these out. The next round of talks is scheduled for May 6. 

Why this matters: While we await the final outcome of the talks, as we have previously reported, all three parties to the talks are agreed on the ending of the “Article 13 exemption” though, for now, the timeline on how and when the exemption will no longer apply remains unclear.

What might happen next: The Parliament’s rapporteur/negotiator Denis Radtke MEP is scheduled to give a short update on the talks process to the EMPL committee next week (Wednesday April 9). If negotiations remain deadlocked in May, the process may extend beyond Poland’s six-month presidency, which ends in June. This would push the expected timeline for the production of a final agreed draft back further. 

We will have an update on the (then) progress of the negotiations at our Sitges Summit meeting in June.