EU Plots Digital Push With July Parliament Vote
The European Parliament is about to vote on a know-how sovereignty proposal submitted by the Committee on Trade, Analysis and Power (ITRE) underneath the management of pro-Bitcoin lawmaker Sarah Knafo.
ITRE, certainly one of 24 standing committees within the European Parliament, on June 3 adopted a non-binding report on tech sovereignty and digital infrastructure, calling for a European coverage for the digital ecosystem.
The proposal highlights issues that Europe is falling behind the USA and China in strategic sectors such because the cloud, cybersecurity, synthetic intelligence, semiconductors and communication infrastructure.
The report suggests lifting boundaries to non-public funding in innovation, selling energy-efficient computing and blockchain infrastructure and safeguarding privateness in digital finance.
Parliament vote anticipated in July
In keeping with the communication from the ITRE, the European Parliament is anticipated to vote on the proposal within the upcoming plenary session.
Knafo, a key backer of the proposal, advised Cointelegraph that the vote will most definitely happen throughout the July session.
“If all of the right-wing events vote in favor of the textual content, and usually they need to, we now have a superb likelihood to get a majority,” mentioned Knafo. “However left-wing events put stress on the center-right social gathering to dam it. We’ll see in the event that they resist it.”
Knafo emphasised that the report will not be but a legally binding piece of laws and is meant to outline political pointers solely.
Is the EU set for a digital revolution?
“I strongly imagine that we’re nonetheless on the very starting of the digital revolution. To this point, Europe is lagging behind, to say the least,” Knafo mentioned, including:
“We’ve all of the proficient engineers and scientists we have to meet up with the US and China. We simply want an acceptable political body to allow them to work in Europe.”
Whereas Knafo is assured in regards to the potential for a digital revolution within the EU, some commentators are much less optimistic in regards to the consequence.
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Skeptics within the French media portal Frontières expressed gratitude for Knafo’s efforts however doubt whether or not the proposal will acquire the help of a majority of the parliament’s 720 lawmakers.
“Change will come from the nations. Change will come from folks. AfD [Alternative for Germany], Poland, Hungary, Netherlands. It’s shy however it strikes,” one commenter wrote.
Knafo’s protest towards the digital euro
Knafo’s advocacy for tech sovereignty follows her vocal opposition to the European Central Financial institution’s (ECB) plans for a digital euro. In a speech to the European Parliament in late 2024, she referred to as as a substitute for a Bitcoin (BTC) strategic reserve
“No to the digital euro, sure to a strategic Bitcoin reserve,” Knafo said in her speech to the European Parliament final December.
Nonetheless, the European Union has moved in the wrong way. ECB officers corresponding to Piero Cipollone spotlight the pressing want for the digital euro to counteract the rising adoption of US greenback stablecoins.
In January 2025, ECB President Christine Lagarde additionally dismissed the chance to create a Bitcoin reserve, emphasizing that central financial institution reserves have to be “liquid, safe and secure.”
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