EU Approves Commissioners, Including Ones Who Will Likely Oversee Crypto Rules

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The European Parliament approved its slate of commissioners on Wednesday, including the individuals who will be responsible for monitoring regulations around digital assets.

In September, European Parliament President Ursula Von der Leyen proposed a list of commissioners. While crypto did not stand out as a core topic amongst the roles, this group will be responsible for ensuring digital asset rules are implemented.

The European Union (EU), a bloc of 27 nations, was the first major jurisdiction in the world to establish a bespoke crypto legislative package last year, otherwise known as the Markets in Crypto Assets legislation (MiCA). Stablecoin rules came into force in June, while the rest of the rules are expected to come in force by December.

"I don't expect a big legislative agenda in the blockchain space and in the digital space per se, over the next year or so," said Mark Foster, EU policy lead at the Crypto Council for Innovation.

Though no commissioner role is solely dedicated to crypto, the EU still has to ensure MiCA is being followed. Some commissioners will have digital assets fall within their remit as the nation advances its crypto rules, Foster said.

"What the industry is really wanting is the EU to continue to discuss with its international partners and ensure that the rules that are being developed across the globe are to the extent possible, interoperable, consistent, and have the same goals," Foster said.

The commissioners have also been tasked with exploring whether or not more regulation is needed.

"According, to MiCA, we are also required to present a report on the latest developments with respect to crypto assets, including an assessment of the necessity and feasibility of regulating decentralized finance activities, lending and borrowing of crypto assets, as well as non-fungible tokens," said Marcel Haag, director of Horizontal Policies at the European Commission, at a Crypto Council for Innovation Forum last week.

They will also have to decide whether or not to terminate the Distributed Ledger Technology pilot or make it permanent and review a proposal for establishing a legal framework for the digital euro, a central bank digital currency issued by the European Central Bank.

The commission is also set to launch a legal analysis on the suitability of member states' legislation for financial asset tokenization, Haag said.

Read more: MiCA, EU’s Comprehensive New Crypto Regulation, Explained

The Commission

The EU commission is the executive branch of the EU. Each member state has to select one person to form the commission.

Von der Leyen, who asked for a balanced gender group of commissioners, had the task of choosing what roles each person will take on for the next five years. People were appointed for roles on trade, climate, technology, economy, international partnership, finance and more.

Each commissioner will have their own focus, but Von der Leyen said in her mission letters the priorities are not standalone and will affect each other.

Plus, crypto is a trans-sectoral topic, Faustine Fleuret, president of industry group ADAN that focuses on Web3 said, adding that they could "engage with everyone" in the commission when it comes to the sector.

Commissioners from Portugal, Finland and France will likely have some purview over crypto.

Stéphane Séjourné

France's Stéphane Séjourné has been chosen to be the executive vice-president for prosperity and industrial strategy, as well as the commissioner for industry, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the single market.

This job would include improving access to finance, simplifying the regulatory environment and promoting innovation for small and medium-sized enterprises. He will also oversee a project called the "horizontal single market strategy" that will require him to address barriers to the movement of goods and services abroad. His role could bring crypto under his oversight, Fleuret said.

Fleuret said she could see the industry pushing Web3 interests and positions on "trade and economic safety, finance, the capital market union, innovation and research" to Séjourné.

"We had previous relations with Stéphane Séjourné during the MiCA negotiation, and at that stage, he was quite open to innovation," Fleuret said, adding that he believed in regulating the sector but knew not to hamper crypto with rules that were too strict.

Maria Luís Albuquerque

Portugal's Maria Luís Albuquerque will be the commissioner for financial services and the savings and investment union. Her work will include ensuring rules for the financial sector are enforced and improving the EU's supervisory system. She will work on improving digital finance and payments.

Plus, Albuquerque will ensure the enforcement of the anti-money laundering package that targets large cash payments, crypto firms and more.

The EU has been considering doing a MiCA 2.0 to address issues like crypto staking, lending and decentralized finance.

"If the commission were to come up with new legislation specifically for digital assets, it would most likely be the Portuguese Commissioner Albuquerque," Foster said.

She might have to coordinate and get input from one of the executive vice presidents, which would most likely be Séjourné, Foster added.

"She has a background in financial services. She's a former finance minister... So she's very experienced in traditional finance," Foster said. Her crypto views were not available online.

Henna Virkkunen

Another figure the industry thinks is important to watch out for is Finland's Henna Virkkunen.

"We also think that one really important portfolio will be the one of Henna Virkkunen, who will be in charge of tech, sovereignty, security and democracy, because of all the related topics within Web3," Fleuret said.

Virkkunen's role will include boosting artificial intelligence innovation, looking at how digital technologies will enhance law enforcement capabilities, strengthening cybersecurity and taking enforcement action using the Digital Services Act where necessary to promote online safety. She will also have to work with Séjourné.

Read more: Elections Across Europe Won't Hinder Bloc's Crypto Ambitions