EU justice ministers at their informal meeting in Dublin Castle under the Irish presidency, 17 July 2026. Photo: Council of the EU, © European Union, 2026 (cropped).
For Tuesday 20 October the Council of the EU convened two meetings on the regulation against child sexual abuse online, the permanent law known as Chat Control 2.0. Both are announced in public notices dated 9 October. The papers for them are listed in the Council’s register, but neither is public, and as of 22 October no outcome has been published.
What the notices say
The notice for the morning meeting, at 10:00 in the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, calls “JHA Counsellors + Experts” in the Law Enforcement Working Party (Police). Its agenda has one item on the regulation: “Technical discussion on a possible detection package”, with document WK 15701/2026 (CM 4513/26).
For 14:30 the justice and home affairs counsellors were called on the “state of play of the interinstitutional negotiations and next steps”. Their paper, WK 15702/2026, was “to be issued” when the notice went out (CM 4514/26). The register now lists it, dated 14 October, as “State of play and way forward”. For both papers the register says the content “is not accessible” (Council register).
The dates
- 29 September: the sixth political trilogue ends with a deal on the tasks of the EU Centre and none on detection in private messages (our note of 2 October).
- 5 October: the counsellors meet on the outcome and the next steps (CM 4365/26). No outcome has been published.
- 20 October: the police working party on a “possible detection package” in the morning, the counsellors on the state of play in the afternoon. As of 22 October, no outcome has been published.
- November: no date has been published for a seventh trilogue. Patrick Breyer, a former MEP who campaigns against the regulation, wrote on 30 September that experts would keep negotiating rules for detection in private messages through October, and that “a final attempt at a political deal is expected in November” (Breyer).
What it changes in the record
Brussels Record asked the Council for access to both papers on 15 October, under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 on public access to documents, and asked for partial access if parts are withheld. The Council confirmed receipt. It has 15 working days from registration to reply, which runs into early November. The reply will be published here, whatever it says.
The tracker, Who decides and the documents list now show both meetings and both papers. What the “possible detection package” contains has not been published, and this record does not guess. As of 22 October no government has changed its position since the sixth trilogue: nine 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). If either paper is released, or a government states a new line, the record will say what changed.
Sources
- Council of the EU, notice of meeting CM 4513/26, JHA Counsellors + Experts (Law Enforcement Working Party, Police), 20 October 2026, 10:00, dated 9 October 2026.
- Council of the EU, convocation CM 4514/26, JHA Counsellors (CSA Regulation), 20 October 2026, 14:30, dated 9 October 2026.
- Council of the EU, public register, interinstitutional file 2022/0155(COD): WK 15701/26 of 9 October 2026 and WK 15702/26 of 14 October 2026, checked 22 October 2026.
- Council of the EU, convocation CM 4365/26, JHA Counsellors (CSA Regulation), 5 October 2026.
- Brussels Record, “The sixth trilogue: a deal on the EU Centre, none on private messages”, 2 October 2026.
- Patrick Breyer, “Chat Control 2.0 Trilogue Update: No mass scanning deal for now”, 30 September 2026.
- Brussels Record, “Where the 27 governments stand”, as of 22 October 2026.
