Violating copyright means distribution - giving out copies without the right to do so.

Sure, but private distribution is something completely different than commercial distribution. And private distribution under friends up to 15 is even legal.

Yes, sharing privately using for example a flash drive, sending file via messaging app, or a private download link that's not shared publicly is not distribution. But I was replying to your comment that said "violation of copyright", which implies distribution - torrents in my case. Fortunately I didn't distribute much, I had the torrent client set to a low speed, so I was able to settle it out of court.

So it was distribution. As I originally said.

I replied to a comment about violation of copyright, which implies distribution.

There have been courts that decided downloading is copying, is infringement. But even if I used incorrect wording, I specifically mentioned distribution being the issue in my original comment.

No, there is a specific ruling says that says downloading for personal use is not infringement or violation of copyright. The person who uploaded it is the one infringing by giving out copies, not the person downloading. That's why downloading gets a pass. Any violation of copyright in Europe necessarily includes uploading.