The Council today adopted its position on two proposals that are part of the digital finance package: the ‘Regulation on Markets in Crypto Assets' (MiCA) and the ‘Digital Operational Resilience Act' (DORA).
This
agreement forms the Council’s negotiating mandate for trilogue
negotiations with the European Parliament.
Digital finance is an increasingly important part of Europe’s
economic landscape. It is essential to create a stimulating environment
for innovative businesses while mitigating the risks for investors and
consumers. I think today’s agreement strikes the right balance between
the latter. Both files are a priority for the Presidency and we now hope
for a quick agreement with the European Parliament on these proposals.
Andrej Šircelj, Minister for Finance of Slovenia
The purpose of MiCA is to create a regulatory framework for the
crypto-assets market that supports innovation and draws on the potential
of crypto-assets in a way that preserves financial stability and
protects investors.
DORA aims to create a regulatory framework on digital operational
resilience whereby all firms ensure they can withstand all types of
ICT-related disruptions and threats, in order to prevent and mitigate
cyber threats.
Background and next steps
The Commission came forward with the digital finance package on 24 September 2020.
The package contains a digital finance strategy, proposals on markets
in crypto-assets (MiCA), digital operational resilience (DORA) and a
proposal on distributed leverage technology (DLT). This package bridges a
gap in existing EU legislation by ensuring that the current legal
framework does not pose obstacles to the use of new digital financial
instruments and, at the same time, ensures that such new technologies
and products fall within the scope of financial regulation and
operational risk management arrangements of firms active in the EU.
Thus, the package aims to support innovation and the uptake of new
financial technologies while providing for an appropriate level of
consumer and investor protection.
The Council and European Parliament will now enter trilogue
negotiations on the proposals. Once a provisional political agreement is
found between their negotiators, both institutions will formally adopt
the regulations.
Council of the EU
© Council of the European Union
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