There is no direct language about cookies in article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. What we have is Opinion 04/2012 on Cookie Consent Exemption of the Article

There is no direct language about cookies in article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. What we have is Opinion 04/2012 on Cookie Consent Exemption of the Article 29 Working Group of the European Commission about Cookie Consent, which elaborates about the topic: https://ec.europa.eu/justice/article-29/documentation/opinion-recommendation/files/2012/wp194_en.pdf https://ec.europa.eu/justice/article-29/documentation/opinio... (The §29 WG is now replaced by the European Data Protection Board, but that seems not to have issued any more current Guidelines or Opinions on that matter. Also: IANAL.)