An EU Council and Commission statement on the dangers of stablecoins for the EU is being prepared, as European source confirmed to EUROPE on Thursday 31 October. It is expected to be presented to EU Finance Ministers on Friday 8 November, on the occasion of an information point at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council.
The initiative was originally pushed by France and Germany, but it is ultimately the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU that will present the statement, with the aim of adopting the text as a joint statement of the EU Council and the Commission at the Ecofin in December, the source explained.
In mid-October, France, Germany and Italy had announced that they had jointly prepared a series of measures to ban Facebook's stablecoin, Libra, in the European Union (see EUROPE 12353/11).
A first draft statement, released online by Politico, acknowledges that stablecoins offer opportunities for financial inclusion, but highlights the risks associated with them.
“We reaffirm our willingness to tackle the challenges raised by these initiatives on the basis of a common understanding and coordinated approach. Our common objective is to ensure that these initiatives do not undermine our existing financial and monetary order as well as our monetary sovereignty”, the draft said.
It should be noted that the text refers to the work of the G7 countries on this subject and reiterates their conclusion that no arrangements for stablecoin currencies should be launched until legal, regulatory and supervisory problems and risks have been adequately addressed (see EUROPE 12352/14).
According to the draft text, all options should be on the table to address the risks associated with stablecoin currencies, including the development of new legislation for a common EU approach to crypto assets, but also the possibility of taking measures to "hinder" the development of these monetary initiatives.
See the draft statement: http://bit.ly/34hd8pV (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)