“The pandemic made Europeans go digital, now EU legislation must catch up”, says Rapporteur of the report on Digital Finance.

The European Parliament has overwhelmingly supported the report on Digital Finance, led by Ondřej Kovařík MEP (ANO 2011, Czechia).

The report calls for the European Commission to revamp the EU’s digital finance rules. More specifically, the (legislative initiative) report issues recommendations for legislation on three key aspects: crypto-assets, digital operational resilience and the use of data, particularly about interoperable digital financial identities.

Mr. Kovařík , the report’s rapporteur, was the first MEP to call for the European Commission to update and adapt relevant legislation, bearing in mind particularly the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has accelerated trends in the field of digital finance.

Two of the proposals included in the report, and put forward by Renew Europe, have already been presented in the form of legislation by the European Commission following the vote on the report in the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee: with proposals of the legislative frameworks on crypto-assets (MiCA) and digital operational resilience (DORA).

On crypto-assets, the report calls for transparency, integrity and accountability on the side of the issuers, to the benefit of investors. It also calls for a framework which is future facing and adaptable to the evolutions which will inevitably develop in the near to mid-term future. For example, the report foresees an open-ended taxonomy to categorise different crypto-assets.

On digital operational resilience, the report calls for a legislative framework that would bring about further harmonisation in the single market and strengthen information and communications technology (ICT) and cyber security provisions across the EU.

The third recommendation is to introduce a framework for digital onboarding, which would enable better data usage, data sharing and supplement existing and any future updates to legislation on Anti Money Laundering.

More Europeans than ever before are making use of online banking, shopping and payments. Equally, more businesses, from small to large, have benefited from new sources of financing and from the new opportunities offered by Digital Finance, for example through crowdfunding. However, there are still too many barriers in the single market especially, in capital markets and the digital arena.

For Renew Europe, introducing proportionate and beneficial new measures in the field of Digital Finance, thus working to complete the digital single market, is one of our main priorities for this legislature.

Ondřej Kovařík MEP (ANO 2011, Czechia), rapporteur of the report on Digital Finance (adopted by the European Parliament, and member of the ECON committee,) said:

’Digital finance, touches the lives of every European citizen without many of us even realising it. The report asks for better security, resilience and harmonised rules that benefit both businesses and citizens, allowing for innovation and growth of the sector in Europe. When preparing the report, we worked closely with the Commission, and I welcome the proposals made since the report was voted in Committee, which reflect the major issues I have raised (in the report).’’