Belgium seeks to reboot European Union (EU) blockchain infrastructure project

During its presidency of the Council of the European Union, the country’s government intends to speed up the creation of a European blockchain infrastructure. Belgium aims to speed the creation of a European blockchain infrastructure during its presidency of the Council of the European Union in early 2024, according to the country’s government. The plan aims to make secure storage of official documents such as driver’s licenses and property titles easier. The creation of a public blockchain for pan-EU infrastructure is one of Belgium’s four goals for its future presidency, according to Mathieu Michel, the country’s Secretary of State for Digitization, on Nov. 21. The next three initiatives will focus on artificial intelligence (AI), online anonymity, and the skills required for the digital economy.

Michel proposes relaunching the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure initiative, which was launched in 2018 by the European Commission in partnership with the European Blockchain Partnership, which includes the 27 EU member states as well as Norway and Liechtenstein: “It’s a technical project.” If we want to construct a shared infrastructure, we must make it a European and political endeavor.” 

The rebranded Europeum would be used for public administration activities such as validating driver’s licenses and other papers across the EU. According to Michel, the project might potentially aid in the development of the digital euro infrastructure. 

According to the official, it is critical to employ a public blockchain produced by EU member states rather than private alternatives: “In terms of security, transparency, and privacy, the blockchain can give the citizen control back over the data that belongs to them.” Italy, Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Luxembourg, and Romania have already expressed interest in the European proposal. The project’s headquarters will be in Belgium. 

The regulatory consolidation process surrounding cryptocurrency and blockchain is progressing steadily. In early November, 47 national governments pledged to “swiftly transpose” the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), a new international standard for automatic information transmission between tax authorities, into their local legal systems.

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