Viviane Reding was speaking at a conference organised by Brussels-based think tank The Lisbon Council, in which she mapped out her vision for EU policy over the next five years.

"Growing internet piracy is a vote of no-confidence in existing business models and legal solutions. It should be a wake-up call for policy makers," she told the conference, explaining that future policy should reconcile the needs of copyright holders and internet users.

"Are there really enough attractive and consumer-friendly legal ...