Javier Zarzalejos, chair of the Parliament’s Civil Liberties committee and rapporteur on Chat Control, with Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs, presenting the Irish presidency’s priorities to the committee in Brussels, 13 July 2026. Photo: European Parliament, © European Union 2026, Source: EP, Alain Rolland (cropped).
The Council’s justice and home affairs counsellors were convened twice on Chat Control 2.0, on 3 and 13 November; neither of their papers is public. This overview covers the three weeks from 26 October; none appeared on 30 October or 6 November.
What happened
- 27 October: the Council released to Brussels Record two of its working papers: the presidency’s note on the sixth trilogue, WK 15082/26, and the four-column table WK 13816/26 (our note).
- 29 October: MLex reported that, under “an Oct. 27 draft of proposed new EU rules”, searches by online providers “could target individual users or specific parts of their services, subject to safeguards and oversight” (MLex).
- 3 November: the counsellors were convened to examine draft texts, WK 16725/26, which the register titles “Draft texts on detection and own-initiative searches on non-public content” (CM 4745/26).
- 9 November: the Council extended to 30 November its deadline on our request for WK 15701/26 and WK 15702/26, the papers for its meetings of 20 October (letter ref. 26/3764-PRO).
- 13 November: the counsellors were convened on the “state of play of the interinstitutional negotiations and next steps”, WK 17300/26 (CM 4906/26).
- In the capitals: Belgium’s Prime Minister offered his resignation on 2 November (VRT), and the King refused it on 6 November (VRT). Sweden’s Riksdag rejected Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist as Prime Minister on 3 November (Riksdag). Latvia’s government resigned on 3 November, and Andris Kulbergs was nominated to lead the next one on 4 November (LSM).
What did not happen
- No outcome of either meeting has been published (Council register).
- The Council has published no day for the seventh trilogue; the presidency’s note says “tentatively” December (WK 15082/26).
- The Commission’s list of organisations under Regulation (EU) 2026/1881, due on 1 October, is still not on its page.
- No government changed its position.
A correction
This record missed that Spain’s parliament was dissolved on 6 October; the general election is on 29 November, and the new Cortes meet on 23 December (Royal Decree 806/2026). It was added on 14 November. Spain remains one of the 14 governments for mandatory scanning.
Coming up
- 16 November: Belgium’s Prime Minister reports to the King (VRT).
- 17 November: Ulf Kristersson reports to Sweden’s Speaker on his exploratory mandate (Riksdag).
- 18 November: the Council’s answer on WK 14760/26 and WK 14059/26 is due; Andris Kulbergs aims to present Latvia’s next government (LSM).
- 29 November: general election in Spain. 30 November: the Council’s answer on WK 15701/26 and WK 15702/26 is due.
- 8 December: the seventh trilogue, according to MLex and Patrick Breyer (Breyer).
The count
Nine governments are on record against mandatory scanning of private messages, with 32.9 % of the EU population, 2.1 points short of the more than 35 % that blocks a Council vote (governments page).
Sources
- Council of the EU, notices of meeting CM 4745/26 of 28 October 2026 and CM 4906/26 of 9 November 2026; public register, interinstitutional file 2022/0155(COD), checked 14 November 2026.
- Council of the EU, WK 15082/26 and WK 13816/26, released 27 October 2026; letter to Brussels Record, ref. 26/3764-PRO, 9 November 2026.
- MLex, “Searches for CSAM may go beyond specific users under new draft of EU regulation”, 29 October 2026.
- VRT, 2 November 2026 and 9 November 2026; Riksdag, notices of 3 November and 10 November 2026; LSM, 4 November 2026 and 4 November 2026.
- Spain, Royal Decree 806/2026 of 5 October 2026, Official State Gazette of 6 October 2026.
- Patrick Breyer, “Chat Control”, timeline, checked 14 November 2026; European Commission, legal framework to protect children, checked 14 November 2026.
- Brussels Record, “Released: the Council’s own note on the sixth Chat Control trilogue”, 28 October 2026; “Where the 27 governments stand”, as of 14 November 2026.
