Seven EU member states – Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain – signed a joint memorandum in which they undertake to promote the technology of the distributed registry in order to transform their economies and secure the region’s leading status in this sector.
The memorandum was signed on Tuesday, December 4, in Brussels, and in addition to the technology of the distributed registry, artificial intelligence and the Internet of things are also called transforming forces in it.
According to the document, the blockchain can be a decisive force in improving efficiency and transparency in public services – from education and medicine to transport and customs services, increasing their quality and privacy for citizens.
“In this sense, we believe that maintaining privacy through blockchain solutions can be a promising step that will give citizens the opportunity to control personal data,” the memorandum says.
It also notes that it is the responsibility of governments to ensure that citizens fully understand the potential of new technologies, which requires support for educational programs at all levels.
Separately, the document emphasizes the future regulation of such technologies:
"We believe that any legislation regarding distributed registry technologies should take into account their decentralized nature and should be based on fundamental European principles and neutrality."
Malta's secretary of digital innovation and finance, Silvio Schembri, also posted a tweet in which he said he was proud that Malta, the smallest country in the EU, took the lead on cooperation in the blockchain field.
@MaltaGov leads 6 other Member States for #blockchain technology. Proud to see the smallest nation in the EU taking a leading role. Thank you #France #Spain #Italy #Portugal #Greece & #Cyprus for your support. @MaltainEU #ourfuture -SS pic.twitter.com/poyETgZwCw
– Silvio Schembri (@SilvioSchembri) December 4, 2018
This summer, Malta became the first European state to adopt new legislation regulating the cryptocurrency industry and the blockchain.
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