Blockchain technology continues to integrate into everyday life. In line with this, the Belgian government has announced its plans to establish a European blockchain infrastructure and accelerate its development during its presidency of the European Union Council in the first quarter of 2024. According to the proposal, government officials aim to facilitate the secure storage of official documents such as driver’s licenses and property deeds.
Blockchain Proposal from Belgium
Mathieu Michel, the Belgian State Secretary for Digitalization, announced on November 21st to Science|Business that the development of a public blockchain network for pan-European infrastructure is among the four priorities during Belgium’s upcoming presidency. The remaining three initiatives will address artificial intelligence (AI), online anonymity, and the necessary skills for the crypto economy.
Michel suggests revitalizing the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) project, which was established in collaboration with the European Blockchain Partnership consisting of 27 EU member states, Norway, and Liechtenstein in 2018:
“This is a technical project. If we want to build a common infrastructure, it needs to be a European project and a political project.”
What Does the EBSI Project Cover?
The revamped EBSI project will be renamed Europeum and will be used by public administration tasks such as verifying driver’s licenses and other official documents throughout the EU. According to Michel, the project could also support the digital Euro infrastructure. He emphasized the importance of using a public blockchain infrastructure developed by EU member states instead of private alternatives:
“From a security, transparency, and privacy perspective, a blockchain infrastructure can give citizens control over their own data.”
Italy, Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Luxembourg, and Romania have already signed up for the Europeum plan. The headquarters of the project will be based in Belgium.
The process of legal and regulatory consolidation in the crypto and blockchain field is progressing steadily. In early November, 47 national governments reached a joint agreement to rapidly integrate the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), a new international standard for automatic information exchange among tax authorities, into their respective legal systems.
