Activities of Antanas GUOGA related to 2016/2007(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Virtual currencies (A8-0168/2016 - Jakob von Weizsäcker)
Amendments (19)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Points out that the VC industry and the VC technology are innovative technologies and are being developed not on the basis of existing infrastructures;
Amendment 4 #
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 greaterenhanced speed and efficiency and reducedlow costs in making payments and transfers, in particular across borders, and potentially promoting financial inclusion;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Highlights that VCs are the only means of payment other than cash, which can facilitate real-time settlement (receiver gets 100% of funds at the time of payment);
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas VC technology differently from most technologies is being developed from zero, not on the top of existing infrastructures;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas Bitcoin and other VCs are created as a method of transfer, not as a store of value which is just a secondary use case;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. AcknowledgNotes that VCs could present risks in relation to criminal activities such as money laundering and tax fraud; notes, however that traceability of cash transactions tends to be much lower than VCs, highlights that there is little evidence that VCs have been widely used as a payment vehicle for criminal activity;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Recognises the potential of VC technologies well beyond the financial sector;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point b
Paragraph 1 – point b
(b) more generally reducing the cost of access to finance even without a traditional bank account(VCs and VC technologies are all about eliminating counterparties as intermediaries), thereby potentially contributing to financial inclusion and the derailed G20 and G8 ‘5x5 objective’23 ; __________________ 23 http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTE RNAL/TOPICS/EXTFINANCIALSECTO R/0,,contentMDK:22383199~pagePK:210 058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:282885,00.h tml
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Points out that it is difficult to predict how VCs might develop and to identify any potential specific longer-term policy responses while not stifling innovation; recommends the Commission to review the EU legislation on payments in the light of the new possibilities afforded by new technological developments including VCs;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d
Paragraph 1 – point d
(d) enabling systems that combine ease of use, low transaction costs and a high degree of privacy, but without full anonymity so that transactions can be traced backmaking transactions traceable in order to make investigations easier for legal authorities in case of malfeasance;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls for the Commission to promote a higher involvement of independent researchers (universities, think tanks) together with private sector to innovate in VCs and VC technology area and allocate sufficient financing through the existing programmes such as Horizon2020;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e
Paragraph 1 – point e
(e) using such systems to develop online micropayment systems that could conceivably replace some of the present data-hungry online and traditional business models which significantly challenge individual privacy;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses the importance of consumer awareness when using VCs while noting the growing use of VC micropayments for online purchases of goods; calls on the VC industry, in cooperation with the CommissionMember States, in cooperation with the Commission, to engage in promoting and educating citizens about VC technology so that VC technologies could be implemented to improve or replace existing payment or financial market infrastructures to achieve higher market efficiency; calls on the VC industry and the Member States, to develop voluntary standards and to address the opportunities and challenges of VCs for consumers with the aim of enhancing the transparency of VC schemes 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 make an informed choice.
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point d
Paragraph 2 – point d
(d) the legal uncertainty and lack of EU approach surrounding new applications of DLT, which may in some instances be the subject of (sometimes ill- suited) existing legislation while in other instances appropriate regulation may still be lacking;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for a proportionate regulatory approach at EU level so as not to stifle innovation at an early stage, while taking seriously the regulatory challenges that the widespread use of VCs and DLT might pose;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls for the Commission to promote a higher involvement of independent researchers (universities, think tanks) together with private sector to innovate in VCs and VC technology space and allocate sufficient financing through the existing programmes such as Horizon 2020;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Calls for Member States to engage in promoting and educating citizens about VC technology and its possible benefits for business so that VC technologies could be implemented to improve or replace existing payment or financial market infrastructures to achieve higher market efficiency;