Commission comments on German streaming bill did not extend the EU standstill

The European Commission's intervention on Germany's Mediendienste-Investitionsverpflichtungs-Gesetz (MedienInvestVG) took the form of comments under Article 5(2) of Directive (EU) 2015/1535, the lightest of the three instruments available in the EU notification procedure.

Germany notified the draft on 22 May 2026 as notification 2026/0260/DE. The Commission delivered its comments as C(2026) 5785 final on 6 August 2026, signed by Roberto Viola, director-general of DG Connect. The accompanying message records that the observations "do not have the effect of extending the standstill period". The standstill ended on 26 August 2026.

Only a detailed opinion under Article 6(2) extends the standstill, by three months, and obliges the member state to report on the measures it intends to take. No detailed opinion was issued on this file.

The comments question the evidential basis for the 8% turnover obligation, describe the sub-quotas of 60% for new works, 80% for German-language productions and 70% for independent producers as rigid, call the three-to-seven-year rights reversion short for international exploitation, and note that the draft does not differentiate between categories of service. The Commission invites Germany to take them into account.