On April 10, 22 countries in the European Union signed a Declaration on the Establishment of a European Blockchain Partnership.
Cryptocurrency market tries hard to regain its base after a record-setting run late last year. Among the traditional financial institutions, corporations, and governments, even the European Union are looking to join Bitcoin’s implicit technology.
This international partnership aims to consolidate Europe as a world-leader in the development and launch of blockchain technologies. This partnership wants to be “a vehicle for cooperation among Member States to exchange experience and expertise in technical and regulatory fields and prepare for the launch of EU-wide blockchain applications across the Digital Single Market for the benefit of the public and private sectors.”
EUROPE GOES LONG ON BLOCKCHAIN PARTNERSHIP
Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, not only welcomed the Partnership’s signing but also made some seriously bullish statements:
In the future, all public services will use blockchain technology. Blockchain is a great opportunity for Europe and Member States to rethink their information systems, to promote user trust and the protection of personal data, to help create new business opportunities and to establish new areas of leadership, benefiting citizens, public services and companies. The Partnership launched today enables Member States to work together with the European Commission to turn the enormous potential of blockchain technology into better services for citizens.
The European Commission has already invested 80 million euro since EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum launched this year. With this investment, European Commission supports the technological and societal development. In the next years, the Commission plans to invest 300 million euro more.
The countries that have signed the Declaration are:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Ireland
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- UK
Other countries that have not signed yet this European Blockchain Partnership are invited to sign this Partnership.
Two blockchain projects already funded by the EU include MHDMD and DECODE. These provide tools affording individuals the ability to control whether they keep their personal data private or share it for the public good.