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Procedure : 2016/2007(INI)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected : A8-0168/2016

Texts tabled :

A8-0168/2016

Debates :

PV 25/05/2016 - 24
CRE 25/05/2016 - 24

Votes :

PV 26/05/2016 - 6.1
Explanations of votes

Texts adopted :

P8_TA(2016)0228

Verbatim report of proceedings
Wednesday, 25 May 2016 - Brussels Revised edition

24. Virtual currencies (short presentation)
Video of the speeches
PV
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  Elnök asszony. – A következő pont Jakob von Weizsäcker jelentésének rövid ismertetése: Virtuális pénznemek (2016/2007(INI)) (A8-0168/2016).

 
  
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  Jakob von Weizsäcker, rapporteur. – Madam President, this the last item of the day and visibly I am speaking not as a backbencher, but really from the last bench in this house. Furthermore, it’s a technical subject; it’s virtual currencies and distributed ledger technology, so one would be forgiven by thinking well, this is a dull and somniferous subject that perhaps will gently put us into sleep at this late hour of the day, but of course one would be wrong, because this new technology has a lot of promise; it has a lot of potential. Some people even liken it to the kind of revolution that was sparked by the introduction of the internet, and I have to say – although not all my fellow shadow rapporteurs are here – we had a very exciting, very interesting and frankly very enjoyable time exploring this particular subject.

Let me briefly explain to you what this is about. Fundamentally what this is about, this distributed ledger technology that underlies the bitcoin, which is the most prominent virtual currency, is a decentralised database that keeps a record of any sort of transaction done within that database in a way that is surprisingly safe, resilient and trustworthy even – and that’s particularly interesting – when there’s no central authority in play. This technology can be used – as the title of the initiative report would suggest – for virtual currencies and in order to reduce the cost of financial transactions significantly.

Some of you may have wondered why it is so much cheaper to send an email or an SMS than to transfer funds, for example from somebody working in one country and sending remittances back home, because in the end this transfer of funds is not much more than an electronic message even today, but still it can be rather expensive – 7% or 8% of the funds transferred. This technology could help us to reduce these transaction costs significantly in the long run, and I think that if we regulate well we might even have open—access electronic wallets where the transfer of funds would be decided by some sort of least—cost routing.

But of course there are also other applications than virtual currencies. You could use this for clearing and settlement, automatic contracts – for example implementing derivatives on the distributed ledger – far beyond the financial sector. You could use it for digital rights management, for music, films or electronic football tickets. If you want to resell these today there might be a danger that you resell them and then the first person who bought them gets into the stadium and the others are kept outside because they bought the same tickets. This is something you could deal with using distributed ledger technology. It could also be an interesting area for government applications – fighting VAT fraud or using it to implement an innovative land register.

Of course, with such new technology it is early days; we are not at a stage where the risks that come with any such technology are systemic. So what we advocate in the report is not to stifle innovation by regulating now, but instead to closely monitor what is going on by the creation of a taskforce which we suggest should be created at the level of the Commission, and then to regulate – if and when the time is right to do so and if and when the structures to do so are in place. That of course doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do anything right now. For example, in the report we greatly welcome the suggestion of the Commission to apply the Anti—Money Laundering Directive immediately for virtual currencies.

 
  
 

„Catch the eye” eljárás

 
  
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  Stanislav Polčák (PPE). – Já se přiznám, že v této věci jsem se seznámil se zprávou právě z důvodu určitého studijního zájmu. Děkuji panu zpravodajovi, jak nám představil tuto zprávu, a musím říci, že na ní si cením to, že zmiňuje nejen ta negativa, ale i ta pozitiva. Já se ve své minutě nemůžu věnovat bohužel těm pozitivům, takže v rámci těch negativ. Já pokládám za poněkud sporné, zdali můžeme do finančního systému připustit určitý prvek, který může mít v sobě povahu miny, který může skutečně vybuchnout, protože má na sebe navázány různé instrumenty finančního sytému. Jenom pokud zmíním dvě negativa. Tyto virtuální měny mohou krýt právě transakce na černém trhu a legalizovat výnosy z trestné činnosti. Hrozí vysoká volatilita těchto virtuálních měn a potenciál pro spekulativní bubliny. To jsou myslím rizika, která musí volat po předvídatelné regulaci, která bude napřed, ne až poté.

 
  
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  Nicola Caputo (S&D). – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, le valute virtuali occupano uno spazio sempre maggiore nella nostra economia. Personalmente, avanzo dubbi, allo stato dell'arte della tecnologia, del livello di sicurezza delle transazioni finanziarie e dell'aumento del cybercrime, sulla loro diffusione concorrente o coordinata con la moneta tradizionale o sul loro utilizzo generalizzato nei mercati finanziari.

Non è solo un sistema di pagamento, come la carta di credito, ma sfrutta il cosiddetto mining per battere moneta. La sua sicurezza si basa sui protocolli estremi di criptazione e su un software open source: le cautele della relazione hanno quindi matrice comune. I mercati valutari e finanziari non sono pronti a questa rivoluzione e quelli bancari non la vogliono: le banche, in quanto tale moneta rende più economiche le transazioni; i mercati valutari per l'enorme volatilità del titolo che può destabilizzare i mercati.

I grandi assenti sono proprio le istituzioni, le quali incomprensibilmente non colmano il gap tecnologico e nemmeno si preoccupano di regolamentarne la diffusione da subito, nonostante questi sistemi possano seriamente mettere in crisi le economie mondiali, molto più dei subprime.

 
  
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  Ivan Jakovčić (ALDE). – Gospođo predsjednice, da li je naša budućnost virtualna valuta? Da li je naša budućnost kriptovaluta, digitalni novac, bitcoin, kako god to nazivali, zaista je veliko pitanje? I svi si ga s pravom postavljamo.

Međutim , želim istaknuti da je zanimljivo da procjene govore da oko dva milijuna ljudi danas koristi taj digitalni novac. Od toga čak 25 000 građana Hrvatske. U tri hrvatska grada postavljeni su bankomati, u Zagrebu, u Splitu i u Rijeci prije nekoliko dana. Zaista vrlo zanimljiva budućnost koja je na neki način u novčarskom svijetu već započela.

Želim naglasiti dva problema. Prvi problem je nestabilnost tečaja i drugi problem je problem štednje jer nitko ne jamči za eventualnu štednju u tom digitalnom, virtualnom novcu. Svi su ostali problemi već navedeni, novi problemi će se pronaći, ali u svakom slučaju želim da se bavimo ovom temom i u skoroj budućnosti.

 
  
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  Kateřina Konečná (GUE/NGL). – Virtuální měny jistě představují velmi zajímavou inovaci, která umožňuje občanům být méně závislí na bankách a jejich často vyděračských poplatcích. Přesto nemůžeme zavírat oči před faktem, že se tím otevírá prostor pro transakce na černém trhu: legalizaci výnosu z trestné činnosti, financování terorismu, daňové podvody a vyhýbání se daňovým povinnostem a další trestnou činnost.

Domnívám se, že musíme vyzvat k přiměřené regulaci na úrovni EU, která však nebude v této rané fázi potlačovat inovace ani zbytečně zvyšovat náklady, avšak bude vážně se zabývat výzvami v oblasti regulace, jenž by mohly vyvstat v souvislosti s rozšířením využití virtuálních měn. Doufám, že si i Komise uvědomí, že se pohybuje na velmi tenkém ledě a nevyužije dané situace k většímu dohledu nad občany, kteří se velmi často jen chtějí vymanit z drtivého područí nenasytných bank.

 
  
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  Jonathan Arnott (EFDD). – Madam President, digital currencies are the epitome of the free market at work; they know no borders – whether national borders or European Union borders – and yet they work. They are not backed by some sort of gold standard, and they are something which can be mined online. This is something which is perhaps very strange to a lot of us. Their value fluctuates like any physical currency, and this works in a bubble which is unregulated and pretty much unregulatable.

So what does the European Union do? Well it wants to do the same thing that it does with everything that it does not currently control – it wants to interfere and to regulate. To me, that is completely the wrong approach for anyone to be taking on an issue like this.

 
  
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  Miguel Viegas (GUE/NGL). – As moedas virtuais representam uma tecnologia promissora, sem dúvida, mas que ainda não dá garantias de poder ser considerada como uma moeda com todas as suas prerrogativas. Neste sentido, pensamos que o relatório é equilibrado, procura evitar uma falsa mensagem de total tranquilidade aos potenciais utilizadores deste novo instrumento.

Desde a criação do conceito de blockchain, muitas moedas foram criadas, muitas morreram, muitas ainda hão de nascer, outras foram obrigadas compulsivamente a encerrar por darem cobertura a atividades ilícitas. Vivemos ainda um período de incerteza, persistem dúvidas sobre o carácter limitado ou mesmo finito da oferta de moeda, pelo menos no atual formato de mineração. Persistem dúvidas sobre o seu caráter ainda muito volátil.

Acompanhamos, portanto, o relatório que aponta essas insuficiências, mas reconhece a necessidade de acompanhar este fenómeno que desperta já o apetite dos grandes grupos económicos.

 
  
 

A „Catch the eye” eljárás vége

 
  
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  Jonathan Hill, Member of the Commission. – Madam President, I should like to thank Mr von Weizsäcker for this excellent report – and I do not think he needed to fear that he was going to send us to sleep. It is a shame we have not got longer to develop this discussion, but I am sure it is one that we will be able to pursue separately later on, and I am grateful for the work on this technology that underpins virtual currencies, the databases that enable a secure online ledger of transactions to be kept.

I agreed with him wholeheartedly that this is both an important and an exciting area, and I also welcomed the very balanced approach that he advocates that we take, which was not to regulate everything, but to keep an eye on the developments of this, to recognise and embrace the opportunities, but also to be aware that there could be some dangers to which we need to be alert. That is the approach I agree that we need to take.

We have been monitoring this issue for some time as one of the areas of potential risk. We have in recent months accelerated our work in order to investigate some of the concerns raised by the Justice and Home Affairs and Ecofin Councils that virtual currencies could in fact be linked to the financing of illegal or terrorist activities. So I am grateful for the support set out for our plans to bring virtual currency exchange platforms into the scope of the Fourth Anti-Money-Laundering Directive. That proposal is set to be adopted in June; it will ensure that people exchanging virtual currencies for hard currency on exchange platforms can be more easily identified, and it should improve our ability to trace transactions, if the need for that arises.

But, as Mr von Weizsäcker said, while it is crucial that we are attentive to these risks, it is extremely important to remember that the technology that supports virtual currencies has many other uses, and brings with it exciting new opportunities. The distributive ledger technology offers the potential to speed up transactions, to make it simpler and cheaper and safer to gather data and to use it to improve business processes. To give just one example, Blockchain, the technology behind Bitcoin, has recently launched a claims record system for reinsurers, and it will use Blockchain technology to record details of claims, so that insurers and reinsurers can more accurately divide the costs between them.

So we need to keep a careful eye on how the technology is evolving and being in used. In the Commission we plan to set up a FinTech task force to monitor developments in new technologies, including those linked to virtual currencies. We will continue to work with the EBA and ESMA, governments and the European Parliament, and also we need to pursue this internationally, in our work with IOSCO and the FSB. We need to be on top of developments, and if the evidence shows that action is needed, be ready to act, but at the same time, we should not choke off the potential that this technology has.

That is why, for instance, I am very interested in ideas being developed in, for example, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, to develop a regulatory sandbox, in order to create a space for some of these FinTech developments to be properly considered. I think it has potential to support the collation of safer, more up to date and more reliable data, it has potential to increase the financial sector’s competitiveness in Europe, it has the potential to improve customer services, and I look forward to working with Parliament as we monitor and develop our approaches to this important new area.

 
  
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  Elnök asszony. – A vitát lezárom.

A szavazásra 2016. május 26-án, csütörtökön kerül sor.

Írásbeli nyilatkozatok (162. cikk)

 
  
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  Paloma López Bermejo (GUE/NGL), por escrito. – Para nosotros las «monedas virtuales» no son un fenómeno nuevo, pues la existencia de medios de pago «alternativos» tiene una larga historia detrás. También las burbujas asociadas a ellos, aunque la tecnología de las criptomonedas sea relativamente novedosa. En este sentido, nos preocupa que pueda alentarse la confusión acerca de la seguridad de su uso por considerarlas un fenómeno nuevo, ya sea obviando que su potencial especulativo o sus limitaciones como medio de pago replican al de cualquier otro instrumento financiero privado o bien avalando su potencial naturaleza monetaria, pese a que se trata de un instrumento de soberanía que no depende de la tecnología, sino del aval del Estado. Por todo ello pensamos que deberían ser reguladas —como mínimo— como los instrumentos financieros cuyas funciones replican, y nos hubiera gustado más claridad en este sentido. De lo contrario, seguimos con la falacia de que los servicios digitales —en este caso financieros— son esencialmente distintos en su naturaleza, en lugar de velar por que se mantengan los estándares regulatorios conquistados en sus análogos tradicionales.

 
  
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  Laurenţiu Rebega (ENF), în scris. – Două aspecte sunt esențiale în discuțiile pe marginea monedelor virtuale. În primul rând, monedele virtuale sunt o necesitate a prezentului în care trăim. Prin prisma ușurinței în utilizare, alături de monedele noastre tradiționale, aceste monede virtuale sunt folosite de către tot mai mulți cetățeni din întreaga lume. Ele oferă avantajul anonimatului tranzacțiilor și un grad sporit de securitate a datelor personale. Al doilea aspect se referă la legalitatea acestor monede, respectiv la crearea unui cadru legislativ coerent, adaptat atât prezentului, cât și viitorului. Actualmente, monedele virtuale nu răspund multor criterii legislative, ceea ce face imposibilă legalizarea acestora în prezent. Totuși, chiar și fără o legislație existentă, tranzacțiile cu monede virtuale se fac facil, iar utilizarea acestora ia amploare, de aceea suntem obligați să pregătim un set de posibile soluții pentru a fi dezbătute. Caracterul fluid, a-național al acestui tip de valută și incapacitatea instituțiilor competente de a monitoriza fluxul tranzacțiilor financiare ne obligă să reevaluăm permanent atât beneficiile, cât și dezavantajele acestor instrumente. Luând în considerare dimensiunea inovatoare a monedelor virtuale, cum răspundem cererii pieței într-o manieră reglementată? Mai precis, știm măcar care sunt pașii pe care trebuie să-i parcurgem pentru o reglementare lină, fără distorsiuni, a acestui domeniu?

 
  
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  Pablo Zalba Bidegain (PPE), por escrito. – La digitalización en muchos aspectos de nuestra vida cotidiana es una realidad, prueba de ello es que hace ya más de siete años del lanzamiento del bitcoin, la primera y más importante moneda virtual. Las monedas virtuales están destinadas a tener un impacto significativo en el sector financiero, al igual que en otros muchos mercados, ya que ofrece un medio descentralizado, rápido, resiliente y bastante seguro para registrar operaciones de cualquier tipo junto con el historial de operaciones anteriores. En 2015 las instituciones europeas dimos más pasos para avanzar en un mercado de pagos más digitalizado, logrando un acuerdo para el paquete de pagos, compuesto de la Directiva sobre Servicios de Pagos (PSDII) y el Reglamento sobre las Tasas Multilaterales de Intercambio (MIF). Debemos continuar con los esfuerzos para fomentar los pagos electrónicos y continuar trabajando para crear un verdadero mercado único digital en favor de los consumidores europeos.

 
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