EU countries agree on copyright reforms, deal in sight this week

The cables from the EU's diplomatic missions around the world reveal anxiety about how to handle US president Donald Trump as well as concerns about China, Russia and Iran.

The European Union's effort to rewrite two-decade old copyright rules to take into account online platforms such as Alphabet Inc's Google moved a step forward when a majority of member countries agreed on a common position for talks with lawmakers this week.

Negotiations stalled last month after EU countries failed to bridge their differences, among them whether small companies should be subjected to the rules, which critics blamed on lobbying by Google and others.