The European Parliament (EP) seeks to accelerate the adoption of laws regulating the use of blockchain technology in trade and business in this region.
On December 13, the EU legislature adopted a resolution called “Blockchain: Perspective Trade Policy”, which describes how the latest technologies can improve the EU trade policy, including agreements on free trade and mutual recognition.
The resolution states that the blockchain will help improve the transparency of supply chains, simplify trade processes, reduce costs, eliminate corruption, detect tax evasion attempts and increase the security of data used. However, it is emphasized that cybersecurity remains a key issue.
The resolution further explains that, despite previous successes in trade, the EU free trade agreements are still not sufficiently used. On average, in the European Union and partner countries, only 67% of exporters and 90% of importers use preferential tariffs.
The use of blockchain technology will allow traders to download all documents in one place, including those related to compliance with the established requirements, so that they can take advantage of preferential rates. The technology will also allow authorities to automatically receive information about market participants and improve the verification of their trading activities.
According to the EP, small and medium-sized enterprises can also benefit from the use of the blockchain, as this will allow them to improve interaction between the parties to transactions, ensure payment security and simplify the business through the use of smart contracts .
In addition, the resolution stresses the need to develop "global interoperability standards" to simplify transactions between blockchains and improve supply chain performance.
The resolution also calls on the European Commission to monitor current pilot projects on global supply chains, as well as draft rules on the use of the blockchain in international trade.
Finally, the EP addressed the European Commission with the following words :
"The European Union has the opportunity to become an influential player in the blockchain and international trade, having played a key role in this, as well as with active cooperation with international partners."
Earlier this month, France, Italy, Spain, Malta, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain signed a joint declaration on the promotion of the blockchain in order to improve their economies.
