The EU Blockchain Roundtable supports efforts to deploy blockchain technologies in the EU
The EU Blockchain Industry Roundtable, which took place on 20 November 2018, is an important step towards creating a European community to support the deployment of blockchain in the European Union. In particular, the European Commission welcomed the announcement by several participants of the establishment of the “International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications” that will be based in Europe and will be open to any organisation willing to work on the deployment of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies to transform digital services.
The new association will work closely with the European Commission and with Member States grouped within the European Blockchain Partnership in supporting interoperability, developing specifications, promoting standards and regulatory convergence to support the development and exploitation of innovative blockchain technologies.
The EU Blockchain Roundtable: “Bringing industries together for Europe to lead in blockchain technologies” took place on 20 November in Brussels, and was hosted by Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel and the Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, Roberto Viola, who said :
“What makes this association special is its focus on promoting trust in blockchain technology among public authorities and citizens. This association can also now become a natural interlocutor for all the regulators at EU and national level, for instance on standards and regulation. It will also be able to communicate with citizens about blockchain, a technology which should not be associated with obscure cryptocurrencies but with transparency traceability and a secure environment”
They were joined by Eva Kaili MEP and author of the European Parliament Blockchain report, senior industry executives and innovative startups that are developing and applying blockchain innovation to new services and products in several different areas including aeronautics, transport, financial services, energy, technology suppliers, healthcare and consumer goods.