Belgium is gearing up to fast-track the advancement of a European blockchain infrastructure during its forthcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union in early 2024. The initiative, led by the country’s Secretary of State for Digitization, Mathieu Michel, seeks to streamline the secure storage of official documents, including driving licenses and property titles.
Belgium’s priorities for its presidency include not only the development of a public blockchain for pan-EU infrastructure but also initiatives addressing artificial intelligence (AI), online anonymity, and the essential skills required for the digital economy.
Michel proposes a reboot of the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) project, initially established by the European Commission in 2018 in collaboration with the European Blockchain Partnership, which comprises all 27 EU member states, along with Norway and Liechtenstein. Michel emphasizes the need for this to transition from a technical endeavor to a comprehensive European and political project.
The revamped EBSI, renamed Europeum, is envisioned for public administration tasks, such as the verification of driver’s licenses and other documents across the EU. Michel also sees potential for the project to support the infrastructure of the digital euro.
Crucially, Michel advocates for the use of a public blockchain developed by EU member states, emphasizing the importance of security, transparency, and privacy to empower citizens with control over their data.
Italy, Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Luxembourg, and Romania have already committed to the Europeum plan, with the project’s headquarters set to be in Belgium.
This move aligns with the ongoing trend of regulatory consolidation in the crypto and blockchain space. In a collaborative effort, 47 national governments recently pledged to swiftly incorporate the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), a new international standard for the automatic exchange of information between tax authorities, into their domestic legal systems in early November.
