08 April 2022

Commissioner McGuinness at the launch of the EU Digital Finance Platform

We hear, read and experience the rapid changes taking place in the financial system.

There are so many new products, new players, new ways of thinking and or doing finance are opening up a myriad of opportunities for businesses and citizens.

Today, the event is about those making this change happen:

We're talking here about creative minds that are bringing new digital financial products and services to the market and those tasked with supervising these activities.

The European Commission is determined to support you.

Embracing responsible innovation is at the heart of our Digital Finance Strategy.

The new EU Digital Finance Platform, that we are officially launching today will play a part in continuing our work on digital innovation.

Already, the European Union has a vibrant, growing community of innovative financial firms.

And our regulators have made good progress putting in place new rules that provide the clarity needed for innovation to flourish.

National supervisors have made big efforts to improve what they offer to the companies they work with.

But I think we all know that we have to go further, and that is what I would like to talk to you about today.

[What we have done to tackle fragmentation]

I always say that one of the biggest achievements of the EU is its Single Market.

Over the past few decades, it has given an extraordinary boost to economic growth, development and entrepreneurship.

But of course, especially when it comes to services, the Single Market is still far from complete.

And I think digital financial services are a case in point.

The “classic” core activities in the financial system are covered by passporting. This is something we all know and understand.

Any firm authorised in an EU or European Economic Area country on the basis of common rules can offer financial services or products across the single market.

But not all innovative new services and applications fit neatly into this system, and passporting doesn't cover all areas of our rules.

So this can make it too difficult for firms, particularly smaller ones, to scale up their activities across the EU.

Today: for too many innovative financial companies, the Single Market is not fully accessible.

Customers – both businesses and consumers – are missing out on a much bigger, more effective offering.

And on a broader level, this fragmentation puts a brake on innovation in the European Union.

The Commission wants to work with all stakeholders, using the levers we have – both big and small – to help create a true Single Market for digital financial services.

In some areas, we've been doing this through legislation.

Take the framework for crypto assets that the Commission has proposed.

It will set clear rules for previously unregulated crypto assets, including so-called stablecoins.

And this will create legal certainty for innovators, allowing them to scale up their activities across the EU.

At the same time, the new rules will help us protect investors and consumers, while preserving market integrity and financial stability.

Well, the good news is that Member States and the European Parliament are now set to enter final negotiations for an agreement.

Given how fast the market for crypto assets is growing and how many retail investors it attracts, we really have no time to lose.

Another example is our DLT pilot. It will soon enable market players to safely experiment with issuing, trading and settling shares and bonds using blockchain technology....

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