10 Amendments of Liisa JAAKONSAARI related to 2016/2007(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Points out that the virtual currency (VC) industry and VC technology are in a nascent state and therefore a common European approach is needed now, which may require a legislative proposal;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recognises the potential benefits associated with VCs for consumers, businesses, charities and the economy at large, which include greater speed and efficiency and reduced costs in making payments and transfers, in particular across borders, and potentially promoting financial inclusion;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Stresses the importance of developing an European level playing field to allow unleashing and fully developing the valuable potential of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT), that can be used in numerous innovative fields and in a wide range of industries and services, such as "smart contracts", crypto-equity crowdfunding and dispute mediation services, in particular in the financial and juridical sectors; moreover, encourages public bodies to evaluate the benefits and explore the possibility of applying such innovative technologies to other fields, with the scope of providing better, more rapid and more efficient services to the EU citizens;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. AcknowledgStresses that VCs could present risks in relation to criminal activities such as money laundering and tax fraud; notes, however that there is little evidence that VCs have been widely used as a payment vehicle for criminal activity, terrorist financing, tax evasion and tax fraud; Stresses that risks to financial stability could become more pronounced as VCs become more widespread; Notes that VCs may become the target of increased cybercrime as they become more widespread;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Points out that it is difficult to predict how VCs might develop and to identify any potentialmonitor and gather statistical data on VCs and to predict how VCs might develop; Calls on the Commission to address this lack of information and to propose specific longer-term policy responses, while not stifling innovationch address the challenge of consumer protection but leave room for innovation; Calls on the Commission to pay special attention to the algorithms used and to assess their security;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Asks the Commission to establish a horizontal Task Force DLT (TF DLT) in order to provide the necessary technical and regulatory expertise to support a European response to the new opportunities and challenges of VCs and DLTs;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to consider the contribution of VCs and DLTs to all sectors, including their role in the development of the digital single market, with a view to ensuring that legitimate businesses in the VC sector are allowed to thrive;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses the importance of consumer awareness when using VCs while noting the growing use of VC micropayments foand transparency when using VCs; calls on the Commission, after conline purchases of goods; calls on the VC industry, in cooperation with the Commission and the Member States, to develop voluntary standards and to address the opportunities and challenges of VCs for consumers with the aim ofsulting the Member States and the VC industry, to develop specific EU guidelines with the aim of guaranteeing that a correct, clear and complete information is provided for existing and future VC users, to allow them to make a fully informed choice, thus enhancing the transparency of VC schemes for consumers in terms of how they are organised and operated and how they distinguish themselves from regulated and supervised payment systems,; in terms of consumer protection, in order to allow existing and future VC users to makeparticular, underlines that the consumers and users, before using VCs, shall be informed about the high volatility and informed choicstability of their value.
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Asks the Commission to ensure that an adequate level of safeguards and effective remedies are in place for consumers who might face some of the risks linked to the use of VCs, such as hacking, malfunctioning of the software/hardware, scams and fraudulent schemes; calls the Commission to consider the possibility to set up specific, concrete and effective measures at the EU level in order to ensure the users are fully protected and safeguarded in relation to these risks.