Πληρη πρακτικα των συζητησεων

Δευτέρα 1 Οκτωβρίου 2018 - Στρασβούργο

19. Τεχνολογίες κατανεμημένου καθολικού και blockchain: οικοδόμηση εμπιστοσύνης με αποδιαμεσολάβηση (συζήτηση)

  Przewodniczący. – Kolejnym punktem porządku dziennego jest debata nad pytaniem wymagającym odpowiedzi ustnej skierowanym do Komisji przez Eva Kaili w imieniu Komisji Przemysłu, Badań Naukowych i Energii w sprawie technologii rozproszonego rejestru i łańcuchów bloków: budowanie zaufania do przepływów funduszy z pominięciem pośrednictwa bankowego (O-000092/2018 - B8-0405/2018) (2017/2772(RSP)).

  Andrus Ansip, Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, I would like to thank Eva Kaili and the honourable Members of the European Parliament for this question about distributed ledger technologies and blockchains, as well as the motion for a resolution.

The European Commission shares the view that distributed ledger technologies and blockchain—based developments are an opportunity for industry and public services in Europe. This will allow rethinking of information systems and processes promoting user trust while ensuring compliance with the protection of personal data and transparency.

These technologies have the potential for more efficient delivery of products and service across organisational boundaries and borders. I had direct experience of that potential in June when I attended a blockathon where 11 teams of coders developed ways to fight counterfeiting.

Blockchain can provide an electronic chain of custody for each and every piece of intellectual property.

The Commission is working to seize the opportunities, address the limitations and define policies that will promote the uptake and development of blockchain based applications in Europe.

To reach scale, 26 EU countries and Norway have agreed to work together to set up the European Blockchain Partnership. Its aim is to develop a coordinated European response that guarantees interoperability and avoids fragmentation.

Another objective is to create a European blockchain services infrastructure to support cross—border public services with the highest standards of security, privacy and energy efficiency.

The partnership is now examining which cross—border digital public services could benefit most from such infrastructure. Examples include the exchange of data for moving goods, duty suspension, digital identity and VAT collection.

The first EU-wide services will be provided over the European blockchain services infrastructure by next year. Principles of governance and other conditions will be specified by the end of this year.

With the help of the European Parliament, we have also launched the EU blockchain observatory and forum to help us identify and overcome obstacles in blockchain innovation. They organise online community building, workshops and blockchain focused events across Europe. Their work aims to stimulate a competitive blockchain environment and the conditions of legal certainty that are needed to sustain investments in distributed leisure technologies and blockchain applications across the European Union.

Thank you for your attention, I am looking forward to the discussion.

(Applause)

  Eva Kaili, author. – Mr President, I would like to thank Commission Vice—President Ansip very much. I am happy to present the resolution on distributed ledger technologies and blockchain, the first one on this promising technology. This resolution has already achieved important political goals. It has become a reference point for other reports related to blockchain technology in this House and it has provided guidelines to the Commission, along with policy directions, preparing the ground for further action. It also provides a solid framework for legal certainty, not only in Europe but also beyond, and of course it has received publicity worldwide.

Blockchain is a groundbreaking technology that promises to improve efficiency, reduce costs and friction, and increase transparency and trust in a wide range of sectors, such as supply chains, financial services, energy, transportation, health care, education, and even copyright and the creative industries, by giving citizens back control of their data. Blockchain also has strong potential to improve the quality of public services, and, as an instrument or indeed a platform, to increase efficiency between the state and the citizen in relation to smart contracts, public documents, avoiding duplication, certificates, licences, land registries and even voting. Blockchain-based applications could also potentially help to fight fraud and tax evasion.

I am pleased, too, to announce that blockchain has united this House, as all the parties in the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) voted in favour of the resolution under the principle of being technology neutral and innovation friendly in Europe.

One of the core messages of our text was to signify that the European Union aspires to become the global leader in the fourth industrial revolution. Here I must underscore the great contribution and work of Commissioner Gabriel in this direction, and thank her for supporting the funding of pilot schemes in a broad EU blockchain alliance of Member States. I would also like to thank Vice—President Ansip, since he is one of the people who have led by example in his country, making Estonia one of the most advanced countries in Europe in the digital era.

On behalf of the ITRE Committee, allow me to deliver the following oral question to you Vice—President. Distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) and blockchains have not only shown great potential in improving existing value chains, but also create new value chains that reduce intermediation costs and transactional friction, and that remedy trust issues, monitoring problems and transparency concerns. The applications of blockchain are numerous and encompass a wide range of sectors. Energy grids, health care, the financial sector, supply chains, transport, education, the creative industries and the public sector are just some of the possible fields. In terms merely of transaction fees, we have an OECD study to the effect that EUR 130 billion in hidden fees is the cost in Europe alone per year.

In order fully to grasp the potential of DLTs in the spirit of technological and business—model neutrality, we need a better understanding of their key underlying features, such as decentralised distributed databases, disintermediation, the immutability of data, ad permission and permission—less applications, as well as the technological possibilities they offer in areas such as smart contracts and funding for SMEs through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).

However, in addition to their potential, DLTs also raise concerns about data protection and in relation to the General Data Protection Regulation. Cybersecurity, interoperability, new sources of fraud and environmental issues are among these concerns. How is the Commission planning to provide the environment of legal certainty that is needed to boost DLTs and blockchains in Europe; and what initiatives would the Commissioner undertake to create a competitive blockchain ecosystem in the EU?

Let me just say that technology is neutral. How we use it depends on us. We are innovation friendly and I think this is demonstrated by this resolution and the great support it has received thus far.

IN THE CHAIR: MAIREAD McGUINNESS
Vice-President

  Henna Virkkunen, PPE-ryhmän puolesta. – Arvoisa puhemies, kiitos Eva Kailille ja komissaari Ansipille, on ollut todella inspiroivaa työskennellä lohkoketjuja käsittelevän päätöslauselman parissa täällä parlamentissa. Oli hienoa, kuinka innostuneesti eri sidosryhmät ja parlamentin jäsenet osallistuivat tähän työhön. Eurooppa on selvästikin edelläkävijä lohkoketjuteknologiassa, ja tämä on selvästi sellainen alue, missä meillä on erittäin vahva pohja kehittyä myös maailman johtajaksi jatkossa.

On huomattava, että lohkoketju on edelleen kehittyvä teknologia, mutta siinä on erittäin paljon potentiaalia. Se, mistä hyvin paljon keskustelimme tuon työn aikana, oli, että meidän täytyy varmistaa, että Euroopassa olisi hyvin innovaatiomyönteinen lainsäädäntöympäristö – sellainen lainsäädäntö, joka kannustaisi alan innovaatioihin ja kannustaisi myös investointeihin.

Erityisesti pyrimme hakemaan niitä kohtia, missä meillä olisi lainsäädännöllisiä tarpeita. Usein tietenkin yritykset sanovat, että älkää vain ruvetko tekemään mitään lainsäädäntöä, mutta toisaalta on erittäin tärkeää, että meillä on alusta saakka eurooppalainen viitekehys, koska jos emme tee eurooppalaista viitekehystä, se johtaa usein siihen, että jäsenvaltiot saattavat alkaa tehdä omia toimiaan, ja se johtaisi taas digitaalisen sisämarkkinan fragmentoitumiseen.

Näin ollen on tärkeää, että meillä on heti Euroopan laajuinen ote tähän uuteen teknologiaan. Olen hyvin iloinen siitä, että kaikki jäsenvaltiot työskentelevät nyt asian eteen ja etsivät yhdessä kehittämiskohteita, joissa lohkoketjuja voitaisiin yhdessä hyödyntää. Samoin komissio on perustanut tämän blockchain observatoryn, jossa niin ikään asiantuntijat tekevät tätä samaa kartoitustyötä.

Nyt on tärkeää myös riittävästi investoida alan tutkimukseen ja tuotekehitykseen. Komissio on jo tähän mennessä sijoittanut 80 miljoonaa euroa, ja tarkoitus on investoida 300 miljoonaa lisää blockchain-teknologiaan muutaman seuraavan vuoden aikana. Se on erittäin tärkeä panos ilman muuta koko Euroopalle: tutkimukseen ja tuotekehitykseen investointi, ja se, että varmistamme, että meillä on innovaatioihin ja investointeihin kannustava lainsäädäntö.

Meidän pitää myös varmistaa se, että yrityksillä on tietty oikeusvarmuus, silloin kun ne lähtevät investoimaan tähän uuteen teknologiaan. Näistä sovelluksista muun muassa älysopimukset, smart contracts, ovat olleet esillä. Eli niiden osalta lainsäädäntöä täytyy myös arvioida, jotta niillä olisi riittävä oikeusvarmuus.

Erittäin paljon lohkoketjujen yhteydessä puhutaan kryptovaluutoista, mutta on huomattava, että meillä on erittäin paljon lupaavia muita sektoreita, joissa voidaan hyödyntää lohkoketjuja: liikenne, energia, terveydenhuolto ja erilaiset toimitusketjut, eli on kyse erittäin potentiaalisesta teknologiasta. Nyt meidän pitää varmistaa, että lainsäädäntömme on teknologianeutraalia ja innovaatioihin kannustavaa ja että yrityksillä on riittävä oikeusvarmuus, kun ne lähtevät alaan investoimaan.

  Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Madam President, all technologies pose difficult question when they arise: how to take best advantage of the new tools, but avoid potential pitfalls that might come along?

Blockchain and DLTs are part of the great digital transformation, together with the development in the artificial intelligence, cloud computing, social media and very high connectivity, these new technologies will radically change the way we live.

Challenges are often debated here in the plenary, and they are many: security, privacy, trust and copyright, they are familiar to us MEPs. But some problems might have a straightforward solution. DLT will make sure that information moves at speed, but that it remains secure and that transactions cannot be manipulated as each party sees modifications.

One promising application is in the field of copyright. A distributed ledger can give both artist and art consumers a better, more transparent method of knowing who made which piece of digital art, and I want to see applications in Europe for example on renewable energies and electrical charging for cars.

But there are other more wicked problems: take for example trust in society. How will DLT increase trust if new financial instruments based on the technology are volatile and not very transparent? Moreover, how do we ensure that core functions of society, such as taxation or prevention of crimes, can still function in a world where data is not centralised?

Blockchain technology developers need to answer these questions when developing the technology and applying it, hopefully destroying some old thinking and models of the way of life today.

I’m also curious to see how old companies will find new ways to integrate this technology. Public sector and governments must also change and learn to do things better with the new technologies, and I’m very happy that the Commissioner took up these concrete ways in Europe as well.

So Madam President, I support the active role that the Commission has taken, and Parliament supported it in order to get involved in the possibilities offered by blockchain and DLTs. The EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum is now up and running. We as a society need to adopt a strong but soft approach to new technological possibilities. We must not curb innovation, but set the framework for a legal and trustworthy environment. We need to learn ourselves and be fast to recognise new situations and effects, and take corrective measures if need be.

(Applause)

  Caroline Nagtegaal, namens de ALDE-Fractie. – Voorzitter, "distributed ledger" is een systeem dat ons in staat stelt om gegevens, geld en software te vertrouwen. Blockchain is een type daarvan en zal een enorme impact hebben op onze economie. Dat is heel positief want dat kan leiden tot efficiëntere markten, kostenbesparing en een betere weerbaarheid tegen cyberaanvallen. Aan de andere kant staat het systeem nog wel in de kinderschoenen. Het is daarom wat mij betreft ook belangrijk dat we heel goed kijken naar de uitdagingen die dit systeem met zich meebrengt.

Deze resolutie is denk ik een hele goede eerste stap. Daar ben ik ook blij mee. Deze technologie wordt ook door de financiële sector breed omarmd. We kunnen ons echter met name in deze sector simpelweg geen risico's permitteren. Er is wat mij betreft geen enkele ruimte voor een quick-and-dirty benadering. We mogen onze ogen namelijk niet sluiten voor de risico's van de nieuwe digitale systemen. Wanneer en hoe valt bijvoorbeeld te constateren of er misbruik van wordt gemaakt? Hoe gaan we onze inwoners van Europa hiertegen beschermen? Dat vraagt om regels om mogelijkheden tot witwassen van geld of belastingontduiking te voorkomen.

Begrijp me goed: ik ben enorm voorstander van deze technologie en geloof er ook echt in. Ik vind wel dat er Europese wetgeving nodig is om innovaties zoals blockchain op de juiste schaal mogelijk te maken. De wetgeving moet wat mij betreft faciliterend zijn. Ze mag niemand in de weg zitten en moet de juiste kansen bieden voor de Europese markt, want alleen zo kunnen we ons meten met de meest innovatieve continenten op deze aarde. Investeerders en consumenten hebben recht op veilige digitale systemen.

Nederland toont zich hier koploper in doordat het een omgeving creëert waarin experts van de overheid, het bedrijfsleven en de blockchainsector samenwerken. Daar ben ik trots op en ik wil de Commissie deze overweging dan ook meegeven als een soort aanmoediging. Het fundament van de toepassing van blockchain is gelegd. Nu moeten we op een veilige, verantwoordelijke manier hieraan verder werken.

  Jakop Dalunde, för Verts/ALE-gruppen. – Fru talman! Tack till kommissionen och föredraganden för att man agerat så kraftfullt i denna fråga. Det är verkligen viktigt att Europa visar ledarskap här eftersom att blockchain, eller distribuerade databaser, är en teknologi med oerhörd potential och med en mängd möjliga tillämpningsområden.

Tekniken kan bli ett säkert och effektivt alternativ till kryptering för att skydda personlig data och någonting som kommer bli allt viktigare i framtiden. Med blockchains har vi också en potential att exempelvis demokratisera energimarknaderna. Enskilda hushåll kommer att kunna producera grön el och enkelt kunna sälja sitt överskott till elnätet.

Det finns också en potential att angripa korruption världen över. Genom att decentralisera system och data minskar vi möjligheterna för korrupta tjänstemän att utnyttja sin position för egen vinning. Systemet i sig gör det omöjligt.

Blockchain har potential att revolutionera många områden. Genom att vi nu lägger fram denna fråga ökar vi chanserna för att Europa inte ska hamna efter i denna omställning. Om vi ska kunna dra nytta av de möjligheter som blockchain medför, måste Europa ligga i framkant i den utvecklingen, vilket jag är glad över att vi nu agerar för.

  Marisa Matias, em nome do Grupo GUE/NGL. – Senhora Presidente, eu quero começar também por agradecer à relatora. As cadeias de bloco e as DLT são uma promessa com mais de dez anos, mas até agora há muita discussão sobre as infinitas aplicações e aquelas que conhecemos melhor são as aplicações em moedas virtuais, por exemplo, as dos mercados financeiros e aí o que temos assistido, de certa forma, é desastroso, fraudes, flutuações extremas de um porto seguro para a evasão fiscal e lavagem de dinheiro. Blockchain e DLT, mais do que uma inovação tecnológica significativa são, na realidade, uma inovação social e organizacional porque se trata de dispensar intermediários, contrapartes e, muitas vezes, até o próprio Estado.

Agora que pensamos em aplicar a outros setores - como seja a energia, a educação e outros que já foram aqui referidos -, eu creio que nós devemos falar também das preocupações e porque é que nós pedimos que haja legislação e a necessidade de uma legislação a este respeito.

Desde logo, como garantir a transparência, como garantir a proteção de dados, como garantir a regulação, se queremos melhores serviços públicos? Como podemos ter melhores serviços públicos e garantir que não há eliminação daquilo que devem ser o propósito desses mesmos serviços públicos?

É por isso que a legislação é necessária, para garantir que não se repita nos outros setores e nas promessas que existem há mais de dez anos aquilo que aconteceu no sistema financeiro e com as moedas virtuais. Aí sim, podem ser uma ferramenta muito útil para a nossa sociedade.

  Dario Tamburrano, a nome del gruppo EFDD. – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, l'argomento di oggi, sicuramente, è particolarmente entusiasmante perché potremmo trovarci di fronte agli albori di un paradigma quantomeno diverso da quel che siamo abituati a vivere.

Siamo tutti consapevoli di quanto oggi l'informazione sia il nuovo oro, e di cosa significhi poterla controllare, gestire, trasformare ed utilizzare a seconda dello scopo da perseguire.

Il registro distribuito, ovvero più comunemente la blockchain e i suoi fratelli, rappresenta una bellissima tecnologia, che ha in sé una promessa di cambiamento assai positivo e la risoluzione che votiamo domani contiene numerosi elementi di analisi e di spinta.

Nessuno è in grado di dire oggi se questo protocollo che permette avanzamenti inimmaginabili in termini di tracciabilità, riconoscibilità, disintermediazione e quindi fiducia tra pari, potrà mai essere il nuovo paradigma sul quale basare una nuova forma di società: le DLT sono un terreno ancora da esplorare in tutte le sue dimensioni.

Oggi la catena del valore è spesso complicata, intricata da una globalizzazione che ha creato innumerevoli livelli, molte intermediazioni e quindi molte diverse forme di controllo di costi ed altri effetti sociali.

Tecnologie come queste, si chiamino blockchain o in altro modo, permettono sicuramente di immaginare nuovi modelli informativi, di controllo distribuito e di avvicinamento tra le fasi di produzione di beni e servizi e il loro uso e consumo.

Mi sento pertanto incoraggiato dall'esistenza di queste tecnologie di frontiera e del fatto che se ne parli qui, ma nello stesso tempo ne sono tremendamente sia affascinato quanto a volte spaventato, per questo non voglio mai chiudere gli occhi, nell'attesa acritica e passiva di vedere fin dove si arriva.

Credo fortemente che il legislatore moderno e scrupoloso debba essere maniacalmente curioso e attento affinché non si spenga mai in noi il desiderio di conoscere bene ciò che va affiorando di nuovo nel mondo, per essere pronti a legiferare in tempo e con cognizione.

Dobbiamo quindi essere in grado di condurre le tecnologie digitali con buon senso, senza soffocarle di troppe regole o normandole troppo in anticipo, ma anche senza mai perderne il controllo, per non essere noi stessi uomini vittime più o meno consapevoli. Vale per la blockchain oggi, ma vale per tutta quella tempesta di innovazioni tecnologiche all'orizzonte, l'intelligenza artificiale, l'internet delle cose, il bioprinting, il futuro che si sta spiegando in un domani che è assai prossimo.

Il testo di cui oggi discutiamo mette sicuramente l'accento su numerose dimensioni positive, come le potenzialità in termini di tracciabilità di ingredienti e componenti, di controllo della proprietà e dell'identità aprendo a modelli di partecipazione dal basso a decisioni e alla loro formazione o di scambio paritario di beni e servizi.

In questo ultimo settore sono anni che anch'io mi interrogo sul come poter contabilizzare gli scambi energetici in un modello di produzione decentralizzato e sono ben contento che la Commissione per il secondo anno abbia positivamente recepito una mia proposta di progetto pilota per studiare la fattibilità delle tecnologie blockchain nello scambio energetico tra pari.

Ma un altro terreno su cui mi piacerebbe davvero vedere un impegno di tutti è nell'indagare il potenziale utilizzo della DLT per il monitoraggio ambientale e quindi la possibilità per tutti i cittadini di partecipare a un sistema distribuito di controllo delle emissioni di tutti gli impianti che oggi caricano la nostra aria di particelle e sostanze inquinanti di varia natura, facendo strage dei nostri cari in maniera ormai ubiquitaria.

Lo sviluppo sostenibile ed equo passa sicuramente anche oggi per le tecnologie digitali, ma prima le mettiamo al nostro servizio, prima ne freniamo le potenziali derive. L'uomo deve essere sempre al centro evitando di mettere delle Ferrari tecnologiche in mano a una società senza patente.

Se queste tecnologie aiuteranno questi obiettivi, ed è nostro compito affinché ciò accada, allora ne sono il primo sostenitore, e per questo sono particolarmente orgoglioso che la settimana scorsa anche il governo del mio paese si sia unito alla partnership europea per la blockchain colmando un’assenza incomprensibile sul sipario del futuro.

  Christelle Lechevalier, au nom du groupe ENF. – Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Commissaire, les registres distribués et les chaînes de blocs sont des technologies prometteuses, qui pourraient faire évoluer notre utilisation des registres et de leurs données.

Cependant, votre enthousiasme et l’engouement soudain des institutions européennes donnent l’impression d’un emballement irrationnel, propre aux nouvelles découvertes. Mon propos sera donc de vous inciter à plus de prudence et de tempérance. Beaucoup de parlementaires ne voient que les côtés positifs de cette technologie, sans en voir les limites, surtout en ce qui concerne les chaînes de blocs – car la véritable révolution dans le domaine des registres est bien l’utilisation des chaînes de blocs. Celles-ci permettent de certifier le registre et d’éviter de passer par des intermédiaires pour y accéder.

Or, cette technologie n’est pas exempte de critiques. Ainsi, l’utilisation de la preuve de travail dans le processus de minage implique de consommer une quantité gigantesque de ressources pour une utilité réelle très faible. Rien que le minage du bitcoin consomme autant d’énergie que l’Autriche: imaginez s’il fallait miner des centaines d’autres registres! À terme, la taille des registres a vocation à devenir exponentielle et imposera que les utilisateurs, ou «mineurs», possèdent des moyens techniques gigantesques pour que le système fonctionne.

Cela pose aussi le problème de la durée de conservation des données: une chaîne de blocs peut-elle conserver les données de façon éternelle sans avoir recours à un registre centralisé d’archivage?

L’indépendance des mineurs est aussi une contrainte car les chaînes de blocs ne peuvent être certifiées que si la majorité des mineurs ne forment pas de cartel. Comment pouvons-nous le contrôler? Enfin, si le nombre de mineurs est aujourd’hui important et permet le fonctionnement de cette technologie, c’est grâce à la rémunération de ceux-ci par le biais de cryptomonnaies. Comment donc se fera la rémunération des mineurs dans le cadre d’un service public? De nombreux autres exemples pourraient démontrer que la technologie des registres distribués, et surtout de la chaîne de blocs, sont encore peu matures.

Tant que les problèmes de l’efficacité énergétique et d’une alternative efficace à la preuve par le travail n’auront pas été résolus, il sera téméraire de vouloir décliner ces technologies à tous les pans de la société. Ce que nous préconisons donc est d’investir dans la recherche, comme toujours et comme proposé, et de laisser les États membres légiférer sur leur territoire.

Offrons aux chercheurs et au temps le privilège de démontrer que ces technologies peuvent révolutionner notre monde.

  Dobromir Sośnierz (NI). – Pani Przewodnicząca! To jest poniekąd fascynujące widzieć to zjawisko, jak państwo europosłowie, komisarze, biurokraci nie mogą spać spokojnie, kiedy coś powstaje bez ich nadzoru, jak ich świerzbią ręce, żeby wsadzić je w kolejną dziedzinę życia, która nie jest przez nich uregulowana. Ale nie i jeszcze raz nie – nie ma takiej potrzeby! Ta technologia rozwija się bardzo dobrze bez Was. Ja mam wrażenie, że niektórzy z Państwa jak rano wstają, to się zastanawiają, co by tu dzisiaj zepsuć. Nie ma takiej potrzeby. Jak będziecie grzebać przy czymś, co działa dobrze, to możecie to tylko zepsuć. Ta technologia powstała poniekąd właśnie po to, żeby nikt nie mógł w niej grzebać, żeby była niezależna od rządów, żeby była odporna na inwigilację, zapewniała anonimowość itd. Więc zajmijcie się Państwo swoimi sprawami, nie grzebcie w rzeczach, w których nikt Was nie prosi, żebyście grzebali.

  Carlos Zorrinho (S&D). – Senhora Presidente, Senhor Comissário, as tecnologias de cadeia de bloco e as aplicações de cifragem progressiva visam aumentar a confiança, o controlo e a transparência num conjunto de processos que são cada vez mais complexos e fundamentais na nova sociedade digital.

Mas este impacto não é automático. As implicações tecnológicas e as suas aplicações não são neutrais e, por isso, nós temos um trabalho a fazer. Nós precisamos de garantir que as novas soluções baseadas na inovação digital incorporam os valores e os princípios civilizacionais que desenvolvemos e partilhamos no espaço comum europeu. É neste contexto que as questões colocadas pela relatora e pela minha colega Eva Kaili à Comissão Europeia fazem todo o sentido e exigem uma resposta ponderada e rápida.

Nós precisamos de ser competitivos à escala global, também nestas tecnologias, mas esta competitividade não pode ser conseguida a qualquer preço. Não, não é verdade que esteja tudo feito. Há muita coisa que nós temos que fazer. Tem que ser desenvolvida num quadro de segurança jurídica e de robustez em relação ao controlo dos processos e aos riscos de apropriação indevida de poder sem legitimação adequada.

O conceito de processo múltiplo e autorregulado não anula os riscos de centralização induzida ou de enviesamento. Estes riscos existem e têm que ser monitorados e combatidos de forma pró-ativa. A proteção de dados, a cibersegurança, a interoperabilidade ou a prevenção de fraudes são domínios em que o papel de regulação e de garante de uma governação múltipla e transparente também tem que ser assegurada pelas entidades públicas nos seus diversos patamares. A disseminação de protocolos de desenvolvimento que fomentam a descentralização e a verificação transparente, a criação do observatório europeu e a parceria recentemente assinada são sinais de que estamos a evoluir no sentido adequado. Um sentido que permita que a União Europeia seja competitiva e, ao mesmo tempo, capaz de usar estas novas plataformas para promover a inovação social de forma descentralizada, segura e conforme aos seus valores.

  Lieve Wierinck (ALDE). – Voorzitter, allereerst wil ik de rapporteur en onze collega's bedanken voor dit mooie resultaat. Hun harde werk zal de basis zijn waarop we een kader voor blockchain kunnen bouwen. Maar hoe bouw je een kader voor iets dat zo abstract is, waarvan we de impact en de mogelijkheden niet kennen, een technologie die mogelijk oneindig veel praktische toepassingen kent? Net daarom is het belangrijk dat we niet de technologie zelf reguleren, maar de toepassingen die eruit ontwikkeld worden. Alleen zo kunnen we voorkomen dat we innovatie aan banden leggen. Dat zou zeer jammer zijn want de industrie die rond blockchain ontstaat, is vandaag reeds miljarden waard. Het is een kans die we met beide handen moeten grijpen. Laten we van Europa het "blockchain valley" van de toekomst maken.

  Anne-Marie Mineur (GUE/NGL). – Voorzitter, ik heb drie vragen aan de Commissie. Ten eerste: de informatie die gekoppeld wordt aan een blockchain, is uiteindelijk terug te leiden tot personen. Dat maakt hen kwetsbaar, niet alleen voor hackers maar ook voor multinationals als Google, Microsoft en Amazon. Het systeem is inherent niet te controleren. Dat zit in het ontwerp. Hoe gaat de Commissie dit toch in de hand houden?

Ten tweede: volgens artikel 21 van de algemene verordening gegevensbescherming hebben mensen het absolute recht om vergeten te worden. Bij blockchain gaat de informatie het internet op en kan ze niet herroepen worden. Hoe gaat de Commissie de AVG toch handhaven?

En ten derde: het rekenwerk van blockchain kost heel veel energie. De twee grootste blockchains ter wereld, Bitcoin en Ethereum, gebruiken inmiddels evenveel elektriciteit als heel Oostenrijk. Die groei is exponentieel. Hoe is dit te verenigen met het klimaatakkoord van Parijs?

  Paul Rübig (PPE). – Frau Präsidentin! Ich möchte mich auch bei der Vorsitzenden des STOA-Ausschusses, Eva Kaili, recht herzlich bedanken. Die neuen Technologien treffen uns natürlich teilweise überraschend, auf der anderen Seite sind wir doch bereit, uns intensiv damit auseinanderzusetzen. Und so wie der Buchdruck die Welt verändert hat, wird auch Blockchain die Welt verändern, mit allen Chancen und Risken. Wir haben die Chance, dass Vertrauenssysteme gebildet werden, und Vertrauen ist etwas, was uns im Internet teilweise verlorengegangen ist. Auch die Transparenz – welche Algorithmen werden angewandt, wie sieht es eigentlich mit den verschiedenen Algorithmen aus, welche gibt es hier, wie sind die Experten in diesem Gebiet weltweit zu finden, gibt es hier Geheimhaltungsverträge, dass Experten hier ihr Wissen nur einzelnen Großkonzernen zur Verfügung stehen dürfen, und wie können wir unsere Landschaft im Bildungsbereich fit machen für diese neue Zukunft?

Ich habe in Südkorea gesehen, dass Achtjährige dort schon coding lernen. Ich glaube, dass es für uns eine Herausforderung ist, hier auch die richtigen Strukturen zu finden. Auch in der Berufsausbildung, damit auch ältere, erfahrene Mitarbeiter in diesen Technologien bestehen können. Und natürlich auch die foresight technology, wo wir uns ansehen müssen, welche Auswirkungen das hat auf die Kultur, auf den Sport, auf die Ökonomie, auf die Umwelt. Ich glaube, diese Auswirkungsanalysen sind von besonderer Bedeutung. Und deshalb sind auch jetzt die Verhandlungen für das FP9 so wichtig, bei denen wir uns ansehen müssen, wie diese Technologien zum Beispiel in Private-Public-Partnership-Programmen neu aufgesetzt werden können und wie Universitäten mit kleinen und mittleren Betrieben diese Technologien vorantreiben können.

  José Blanco López (S&D). – Señora presidenta, cuando pensamos en estas tecnologías lo primero que nos viene a la cabeza son monedas virtuales como el bitcoin, monedas que han estado en el ojo del huracán desde su nacimiento y especialmente en este año tras haber desaparecido, según informes recientes, hasta cuatrocientos mil millones de dólares de valor de mercado. Es una alerta.

Desde luego, debemos aprovechar todo el potencial que las tecnologías de registros distribuidos y las cadenas de bloques nos ofrecen para crear registros rápidos, baratos, seguros, transparentes e inmutables. Debemos ser capaces de desarrollar aplicaciones en redes de energía, asistencia sanitaria, educación, cadenas de suministro, industrias creativas, sector público.

Por ello, saludo la creación del observatorio europeo de cadena de bloques y la asociación europea, a la que se han unido ya veintiséis países. Es así, uniendo esfuerzos, como Europa puede allanar el camino para lograr posiciones de liderazgo en una tecnología que podría cambiar nuestras vidas en múltiples ámbitos. Pero hay que ser conscientes de los riesgos para poder combatirlos. La volatilidad del bitcoin es una advertencia.

No podemos apartar la vista de cuestiones trascendentales como la protección de datos, la ciberseguridad, las oportunidades para nuevas vías de fraude que ofrece y su impacto medioambiental. Estudios recientes señalan que el consumo eléctrico derivado de la red de minería del bitcoin equivale al 1 % del consumo de electricidad en todo el mundo. Esto no es viable. Necesitamos, por tanto, ser conscientes de las oportunidades y los riesgos para maximizar las primeras y minimizar los segundos.

  Antanas Guoga (PPE). – Madam President, it is a pleasure to have the Vice—President here again. Just recently we had the #Switch Conference in Vilnius. This time 15 000 children turned up. I know you visited it once with me a few years ago. It was a conference about blockchain technology. It is here and it is here to stay. Let’s not stop it. Eva Kaili is doing a great job with this resolution, which I think is very important. I also think it is very important to educate politicians that blockchain technology or DLT does differ significantly from cryptocurrencies and bitcoin and Ethereum, and then Ethereum differs a lot from bitcoin too as it was a main means of funding a lot great projects for which Europeans got money could have never come to them before. So there is a lot of great innovation where people have been contributing from all over the world. We will see how that pans out.

Over—regulating and being too nervous is not the way to go. The European Central Bank has been quite active, and a lot of reserve banks in Europe have been quite active, warning people of the risk – and there are risks when you speculate, and the bitcoin price does fluctuate significantly – but bitcoin is here to stay. Other parts of it, like decentralisation is here to stay too, and once these technologies are decentralised we will not have much say, unfortunately. This is something that we also have to live with, because once it is decentralised it runs on its own merit.

This is the current world and the current status for us all. Artificial intelligence we should not be afraid of either. We should be leading the world and we should be investing and educating ourselves to start with, our children and our great countries of Europe to lead the world forward with very liberal legislation, very open arms to create well—paid jobs for everybody, which we all need.

So I wish everyone good luck. Stay positive. This is one of the main technologies that can lead us forward.

(Applause)

  Sirpa Pietikäinen (PPE). – Madam President, the pace of development of new technologies is going to speed up exponentially in the future, whether the EU is on board on this development or not. It is going to be led from the Asian countries and the USA. The EU has been lagging behind because we are disintegrated Member States, not putting our efforts effectively together. So I am welcoming the Commission’s proposal and this report that sets out the importance of the EU countries and the EU as a unit working together. This means a better leveraging regulatory environment. We have to bear in mind that regulatory environments create markets. If they are badly done they prevent markets but they are precondition for the birth of markets in the future, to set the internal market. We need better research, a better venture capital approach in this area and we need a better speed up of university cooperation with entrepreneurs.

But then Madam President I would like to look on the other side of the story, and this is the risks – not because I would be against these technologies, but just because I’m in favour of these technologies. With this speeding pace of development, new kind of challenges and maybe threats are going to emerge. If we want to preserve a good technology environment, what we would need to have in the future in the EU is a special agency concentrating on new technology threats and how to combat these in a proactive manner instead of just reacting later on after a crisis has happened.

  Cristian-Silviu Buşoi (PPE). – Madam President, I would first like to welcome this initiative, which has the potential to open new horizons in multiple European sectors and to thank Madam Kaili, whom I’m also collaborating with in another similar file. I am responsible for the opinion of the Committee on International Trade for the file on blockchain and forward-looking trade policy.

Blockchain and DLTs have definite potential and this has been shown via recent projects around the world. I really believe that the future will be better with the help of these technologies. But at the same time we need to be pragmatic and keep in mind also the vulnerabilities and imperfections of the system like the threat of hacking, risks to cybersecurity and the environmental impact.

Consequently, we need a more environmentally friendly system and a less energy consuming one, but also one that addresses technological risks and potential security challenges. The future competitiveness and capacity for innovation of European industry could be closely related to the adoption and implementation of distributed ledger technologies. Sectors such as energy, food, health, transport and manufacturing could be significantly reshaped by these emerging technologies.

What I consider crucial for these emerging promising technologies to flourish in the European Union is to adopt an innovation—friendly approach and not to rush prematurely into regulation and potentially hamper innovation. Further, to ensure companies and start—ups simplified access to, and enhance, financing within EU financial instruments. The EU needs to create an ecosystem where innovation by companies and start—ups are encouraged.

I highlight the major potential to integrate DLTs with other technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Moreover DLTs, with enhanced cooperation between the Commission and Member States, have the potential to improve monitoring, security and verification mechanisms and to fight unlawful payments, facilitate anti—money laundering policies and detect misappropriations of assets.

As regards smart contracts, it is true that they can be a key enabler of decentralised applications, but at the moment my opinion is that this technology is not mature enough to be considered legally enforceable.

I close by reiterating how extremely important it is for the Member States to play an active role and strengthen the collaboration with the Commission within the recently—established European blockchain partnership which, from my perspective, is the cornerstone of the Union’s future innovation capacity and global competitiveness.

Catch-the-eye procedure

  Seán Kelly (PPE). – Madam President, I think if you asked citizens across the European Union what bitcoin and blockchain were, 99.9% would probably say: ‘what?’ They wouldn’t know. I think, for that reason, it is good that the rapporteur, Eva Kaili, is ensuring that at least we, on behalf of European citizens, are aware of what is happening and are trying to keep to up to speed with developments and to regulate sensibly.

Nevertheless, the point made by my colleague, Sirpa Pietikäinen, is very valid. I think many people, especially nowadays, feel overwhelmed by all the new technologies that have been developed. It might be a good idea for the Commission to go on some kind of information campaign to inform citizens what these technologies actually mean to them and what opportunities there are. Otherwise the negative side regarding climate and energy use and so forth will take over and it could render it difficult. So that is a suggestion.

  Νότης Μαριάς (ECR). – Κυρία Πρόεδρε, η ερώτηση που έθεσε η συνάδελφος, κυρία Καϊλή, για τις τεχνολογίες κατανεμημένου καθολικού και blockchain νομίζω ότι αναδεικνύουν τα βασικά προβλήματα τα οποία αντιμετωπίζουμε στη διάρκεια της τέταρτης βιομηχανικής επανάστασης. Μια διαδικασία που προχωρεί συνεχώς, καθώς υπάρχει πλέον ψηφιοποιημένος ευρωπαϊκός βιομηχανικός χώρος.

Είναι σίγουρο ότι οι εφαρμογές της αλυσίδας συστοιχιών (blockchain) καλύπτουν, όπως αναφέρθηκε, πάρα πολλούς τομείς: τα ενεργειακά δίκτυα, την υγειονομική περίθαλψη, τον χρηματοπιστωτικό τομέα, τις αλυσίδες εφοδιασμού, τις μεταφορές, την εκπαίδευση. Αφορούν βεβαίως και τον δημόσιο τομέα. Νομίζω ότι τα ζητήματα αυτά πρέπει να μας απασχολήσουν και πρέπει να δοθεί μεγάλη έμφαση στην κυβερνοασφάλεια, στην προστασία των δεδομένων αλλά φυσικά και στην αξιοποίηση όλου αυτού του συστήματος, όπως ειπώθηκε και από τον Επίτροπο, σε επίπεδο δημοσίων υπηρεσιών. Ταυτόχρονα πρέπει να προσέξουμε τα αρνητικά φαινόμενα, όπως είναι η δημιουργία καρτέλ και οι αμοιβές με κρυπτονομίσματα, όπως είναι το bitcoin.

(End of catch-the-eye procedure)

  Andrus Ansip, Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, first of all, I would like to thank Eva Kaili and all those who worked on this resolution. I would like to thank the European Parliament for the opportunity to discuss distributed ledger technologies and blockchains, and for the interesting views expressed by its Members.

The resolution to be voted on during this plenary will provide additional impetus and support to the EU’s vision for developing and promoting these technologies during the coming year. The Commission has already invested more than EUR 80 million in projects supporting the use of blockchain through Horizon 2020. The Connecting Europe Facility will support a first wave of deployment of cross-border public service use cases and engage the private sector, including cutting-edge start-ups. We are proposing more investments in the Digital Europe programme, including for European blockchain services infrastructure to ensure that Europe is at the global forefront of blockchain innovation.

The Commission is pleased that the European Parliament shares our view on the need to seize the opportunities offered by distributed ledger technology and blockchain technology, and acknowledges the importance it plays in the digital transformation of European industry and governments.

As we know, Europe is already host to more than 500 blockchain start-ups. I mentioned in my introduction that we organised the first ever ‘Blockathon’ in Europe. The aim of this ‘Blockathon’ was to better protect intellectual property rights. As we know, this is a real headache not only in the European Union, but globally. In the year 2017, 43 million European citizens bought some kind of pirated goods, and if we lost EUR 85 billion in this way, it means that we also lost 800 000 jobs in Europe. It is really good when young people would like to use this very innovative new technology to protect our jobs and intellectual property rights in the European Union.

Of course blockchain may not be the panacea that will solve all our challenges, but it is an opportunity that we cannot overlook – an opportunity for the EU to lead in new trusted business models and for public services to deliver better, more innovative services to people, in line with our legal principles and our European values.

  President. – I have received one motion for a resolution tabled in accordance with Rule 128(5).

The debate is closed.

The vote will take place on Wednesday, 3 October 2018.

Written statements (Rule 162)

  András Gyürk (PPE), írásban. – Az Egyesült Álamok és Kína mögött Európa jelentősen le van maradva a modern digitális technológiák terén. Miközben egyre tisztábban látszik, hogy mik lesznek azok a technológiai irányok, amelyek meghatározzák a jövőnket, nem világos, hogy Európa miként tudná felvenni a versenyt a globális versenytársakkal. A mesterséges intelligencia és a „big data” területén már most jelentős lemaradásban vagyunk, és sajnos nem tudunk olyan különleges versenyelőnyt felmutatni, amivel vissza tudnánk kapaszkodni az élvonalba. Kínában az elképesztő adatmennyiség és a központi irányítás hatékonysága, az Egyesült Államokban pedig annak innovatív ipara nyújt olyan versenyelőnyt, amelynek hatékonyságával szemben nem tudunk mit felmutatni.

Márpedig Európa igenis különleges, és vannak olyan erőforrásai, amelyekkel egyedülálló a világon. A belső piac egységessége, annak masszív vásárlóereje valamint a rugalmas és előremutató szabályozási környezet egy olyan alapot nyújt, amely nincs meg a versenytársaknak. A blokklánc alapú technológiák esetében pontosan ezek a feltételek a legszükségesebbek, ezért azt gondolom, hogy amennyiben megfelelően alakítjuk ki az innováció és az alkalmazhatóság keretrendszerét, úgy Európa a fejlesztés élvonalába kerülhet. Úgy gondolom, hogy ez egy kiváló lehetőség arra, hogy a nemrég életbe léptetett adatkezelési irányelv sikerei után, az Unió újra megmutassa, hogy igenis képes a megfelelni a kor kihívásainak és egy újabb területen szerezhet vezető szerepet a világban.

  Eva Maydell (PPE), in writing. – Technology gives opportunity to our citizens, businesses, and to the public administration in our Member States. However, we, the members of the European Parliament, must give opportunity for technology to thrive. We must make sure that we have legal certainty for European companies. We must create European legislative framework, otherwise we risk patch-work - a fragmentation of the Digital Single Market into 28 different blocks.

Blockchain technology is still developing, yet it can deliver higher efficiencies in providing services. Perhaps the best example of a sector that embraces blockchain is the financial services, but in the “Resolution on Distributed ledger technologies and blockchains: building trust with disintermediation” we also look into how it can affect other areas and where it can have a greater impact - energy sector, health care sector, education and others.

I have been long-standing advocate for Regulation for Innovation and I see this resolution as a clear signal that Europe stand in support of blockchain and technology, and I very much welcome the commitment of the European Commission to invest up to 300 million euros by 2020.