The ‘MiCA’ regulation proposal to regulate markets on crypto-assets was due, on Wednesday 18 May, to be the subject of a second round of interinstitutional negotiations (‘trilogues’) between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. According to our information, this trilogue has been postponed.
At least one more trilogue, “if not more”, will take place in June, a source told EUROPE on Tuesday 17 May.
Despite a first trilogue at the end of March, negotiations are not close to being concluded. “In between we are having a great number of technical meetings between experts to make progress, as the text is quite complex. So, all in all there is good progress so far, but of course nothing is decided yet”, the source continued.
According to an EU Council document obtained by EUROPE, the issue of crypto-assets other than so-called “stablecoins” is subject to debate.
Charged with negotiating on behalf of the Member States, the French Presidency of the EU Council considers the European Parliament’s proposal to allow an issuer of such crypto-assets to seek prior approval from a national supervisory authority for the white paper accompanying the issuance of the crypto-assets too risky. This white paper will include all relevant information (detailed description of the issuer, intended use of funds, risks) on the issued crypto asset.
According to the French Presidency, a compromise could emerge that would give supervisory authorities the power to request amendments or additions to a white paper both ex ante and ex post.
Another point of disagreement is that the Parliament wants to strengthen consumer protection by including provisions to avoid conflicts of interest when drafting the white paper. The French Presidency is very sceptical on this point.
The environmental impact of the issuance and trading of crypto-assets will also be at the heart of the negotiations.
Some MEPs had in fact expressed their disappointment during the vote in the parliamentary committee (see EUROPE 12910/12). The six-month rotating Presidency “could, in a spirit of compromise, show openness on this issue, while requiring respect for the principles of proportionality and technological neutrality”, it says.
“The goal of the French Presidency is to ideally conclude negotiations with an agreement still during their Presidency, so by the end of June”, the source concluded.
To read the document: https://aeur.eu/f/1p8 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)