Alfred Sant asks EU to clarify position on European Digital Strategy

Labour Party MEP Alfred Sant has called on the European Commission to clarify its position on the European Digital Strategy, and on its intentions to keep this up to date with digital and technological developments.

Sant, together with German MEP Jakov von Weizsäcker, French MEP Pervenche Berès and Finish MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen also asked for more clarity and transparency on the work of the EU Observatory, also noting that the European Parliament should be informed of all work carried out by the Blockchain Observatory.

The EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum is expected to play an active role in helping Europe to seize new opportunities offered by blockchain, build expertise and show leadership in the field. It will be gathering information, monitoring and analysing trends, addressing challenges and exploring blockchains' socio-economic potential.

It should also enable cross border cooperation on practical use cases, bringing Europe's best experts together and promoting an open forum for blockchain technologists, innovators, citizens, industry stakeholders, public authorities, regulators and supervisors, to discuss and develop new ideas in order to learn, engage and contribute in an open way.

Sant said his initiative supports the Maltese government’s policy to implement a framework regarding cryptocurrencies, blockchain and distributed ledger technology, with the aim of making Malta one of the first jurisdictions in the world to pass specific legislation in this area.