The
European
Parliament
approved
its
slate
of
commissioners
on
Wednesday,
including
the
individuals
who
will
be
responsible
for
monitoring
regulations
around
digital
assets.
In
September,
European
Parliament
President
Ursula
Von
der
Leyen
proposed
a
list
of
commissioners.
While
crypto
did
not
stand
out
as
a
core
topic
amongst
the
roles,
this
group
will
be
responsible
for
ensuring
digital
asset
rules
are
implemented.
continues
below
The
European
Union
(EU),
a
bloc
of
27
nations,
was
the
first
major
jurisdiction
in
the
world
to
establish
a
bespoke
crypto
legislative
package
last
year,
otherwise
known
as
the
Markets
in
Crypto
Assets
legislation
(MiCA).
Stablecoin
rules
came
into
force
in
June,
while
the
rest
of
the
rules
are
expected
to
come
in
force
by
December.
“I
don’t
expect
a
big
legislative
agenda
in
the
blockchain
space
and
in
the
digital
space
per
se,
over
the
next
year
or
so,”
said
Mark
Foster,
EU
policy
lead
at
the
Crypto
Council
for
Innovation.
Though
no
commissioner
role
is
solely
dedicated
to
crypto,
the
EU
still
has
to
ensure
MiCA
is
being
followed.
Some
commissioners
will
have
digital
assets
fall
within
their
remit
as
the
nation
advances
its
crypto
rules,
Foster
said.
“What
the
industry
is
really
wanting
is
the
EU
to
continue
to
discuss
with
its
international
partners
and
ensure
that
the
rules
that
are
being
developed
across
the
globe
are
to
the
extent
possible,
interoperable,
consistent,
and
have
the
same
goals,”
Foster
said.
The
commissioners
have
also
been
tasked
with
exploring
whether
or
not
more
regulation
is
needed.
“According,
to
MiCA,
we
are
also
required
to
present
a
report
on
the
latest
developments
with
respect
to
crypto
assets,
including
an
assessment
of
the
necessity
and
feasibility
of
regulating
decentralized
finance
activities,
lending
and
borrowing
of
crypto
assets,
as
well
as
non-fungible
tokens,”
said
Marcel
Haag,
director
of
Horizontal
Policies
at
the
European
Commission,
at
a
Crypto
Council
for
Innovation
Forum
last
week.
They
will
also
have
to
decide
whether
or
not
to
terminate
the
Distributed
Ledger
Technology
pilot
or
make
it
permanent
and
review
a
proposal
for
establishing
a
legal
framework
for
the
digital
euro,
a
central
bank
digital
currency
issued
by
the
European
Central
Bank.
The
commission
is
also
set
to
launch
a
legal
analysis
on
the
suitability
of
member
states’
legislation
for
financial
asset
tokenization,
Haag
said.
Read
more:
MiCA,
EU’s
Comprehensive
New
Crypto
Regulation,
Explained
The
Commission
The
EU
commission
is
the
executive
branch
of
the
EU.
Each
member
state
has
to
select
one
person
to
form
the
commission.
Von
der
Leyen,
who
asked
for
a
balanced
gender
group
of
commissioners,
had
the
task
of
choosing
what
roles
each
person
will
take
on
for
the
next
five
years.
People
were
appointed
for
roles
on
trade,
climate,
technology,
economy,
international
partnership,
finance
and
more.
Each
commissioner
will
have
their
own
focus,
but
Von
der
Leyen
said
in
her
mission
letters
the
priorities
are
not
standalone
and
will
affect
each
other.
Plus,
crypto
is
a
trans-sectoral
topic,
Faustine
Fleuret,
president
of
industry
group
ADAN
that
focuses
on
Web3
said,
adding
that
they
could
“engage
with
everyone”
in
the
commission
when
it
comes
to
the
sector.
Commissioners
from
Portugal,
Finland
and
France
will
likely
have
some
purview
over
crypto.
Stéphane
Séjourné
France’s
Stéphane
Séjourné
has
been
chosen
to
be
the
executive
vice-president
for
prosperity
and
industrial
strategy,
as
well
as
the
commissioner
for
industry,
small
and
medium-sized
enterprises
(SMEs)
and
the
single
market.
This
job
would
include
improving
access
to
finance,
simplifying
the
regulatory
environment
and
promoting
innovation
for
small
and
medium-sized
enterprises.
He
will
also
oversee
a
project
called
the
“horizontal
single
market
strategy”
that
will
require
him
to
address
barriers
to
the
movement
of
goods
and
services
abroad.
His
role
could
bring
crypto
under
his
oversight,
Fleuret
said.
Fleuret
said
she
could
see
the
industry
pushing
Web3
interests
and
positions
on
“trade
and
economic
safety,
finance,
the
capital
market
union,
innovation
and
research”
to
Séjourné.
“We
had
previous
relations
with
Stéphane
Séjourné
during
the
MiCA
negotiation,
and
at
that
stage,
he
was
quite
open
to
innovation,”
Fleuret
said,
adding
that
he
believed
in
regulating
the
sector
but
knew
not
to
hamper
crypto
with
rules
that
were
too
strict.
Maria
Luís
Albuquerque
Portugal’s
Maria
Luís
Albuquerque
will
be
the
commissioner
for
financial
services
and
the
savings
and
investment
union.
Her
work
will
include
ensuring
rules
for
the
financial
sector
are
enforced
and
improving
the
EU’s
supervisory
system.
She
will
work
on
improving
digital
finance
and
payments.
Plus,
Albuquerque
will
ensure
the
enforcement
of
the
anti-money
laundering
package
that
targets
large
cash
payments,
crypto
firms
and
more.
The
EU
has
been
considering
doing
a
MiCA
2.0
to
address
issues
like
crypto
staking,
lending
and
decentralized
finance.
“If
the
commission
were
to
come
up
with
new
legislation
specifically
for
digital
assets,
it
would
most
likely
be
the
Portuguese
Commissioner
Albuquerque,”
Foster
said.
She
might
have
to
coordinate
and
get
input
from
one
of
the
executive
vice
presidents,
which
would
most
likely
be
Séjourné,
Foster
added.
“She
has
a
background
in
financial
services.
She’s
a
former
finance
minister…
So
she’s
very
experienced
in
traditional
finance,”
Foster
said.
Her
crypto
views
were
not
available
online.
Henna
Virkkunen
Another
figure
the
industry
thinks
is
important
to
watch
out
for
is
Finland’s
Henna
Virkkunen.
“We
also
think
that
one
really
important
portfolio
will
be
the
one
of
Henna
Virkkunen,
who
will
be
in
charge
of
tech,
sovereignty,
security
and
democracy,
because
of
all
the
related
topics
within
Web3,”
Fleuret
said.
Virkkunen’s
role
will
include
boosting
artificial
intelligence
innovation,
looking
at
how
digital
technologies
will
enhance
law
enforcement
capabilities,
strengthening
cybersecurity
and
taking
enforcement
action
using
the
Digital
Services
Act
where
necessary
to
promote
online
safety.
She
will
also
have
to
work
with
Séjourné.
Read
more:
Elections
Across
Europe
Won’t
Hinder
Bloc’s
Crypto
Ambitions
