Politico looked into the current status of the so-called publisher’s right copyright reform whose proposal was released last autumn and whose fate will be determined in the coming months. Calling it “the largest, loudest and most divisive battle in EU policy this year”, the articles chart the background of the reform, as well as outlining the key debates and major players around it.

Although many European publishers have been enthusiastic about the copyright proposal, a number of countries have also expressed doubts about the plan, Politico reports, singling out the Netherlands, Britain and Estonia. Moreover, some smaller publishers worry that new regulation would have the effect of deterring Google and other platforms from driving traffic to them.

Some opponents also argue that the reform is misguided in the sense that at the heart of news publishers’ problem is not copyright, but rather an outdated business model.

Despite the doubts, news publishers seem confident that it will eventually pass in the Parliament, given the proposal's influential backers including several major publishers, such as Axel Springer, and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.