- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has unveiled the members of her cabinet.
- DL News reveals who got the wallets to watch.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled her new team of commissioners this week.
The 26 commissioners will lead European policy for the next five years – if they survive the questioning by lawmakers.
But what do these appointments mean for cryptocurrency? Here are three things to watch.
1. New wallets
Ursula von der Leyen has assigned each Commissioner-designate a portfolio, i.e. an area of responsibility. EU countries that nominated female Commissioners have been rewarded with important portfolios, with Ursula von der Leyen working to ensure gender parity in her cabinet.
Ursula von der Leyen has handed the financial services portfolio to Portuguese centre-right candidate Maria Luis Albuquerque.
It’s not yet clear which topics fall under which portfolios, but Mark Foster, head of European policy at the Crypto Council of Innovation, said this is one to watch.
Cryptocurrency legislation, including the bloc’s flagship framework, the Cryptoasset Market Regulation, emanates from this department.
Albuquerque and all other candidates must still be approved by the European Parliament after a session where they will be asked about their priorities. In her favor, Albuquerque, a former Portuguese finance minister, has the right experience for her portfolio, Foster said.
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On the other hand, she is known for implementing strict austerity measures during her tenure as finance minister, “so that she could be exposed to attacks from the left during her hearing,” Foster said.
It’s too early to know Albuquerque’s views on digital finance or cryptocurrency, Foster said. A letter von der Leyen sent to Albuquerque outlining her priorities did not mention digital assets.
But that is not necessarily worrying since the EU is well ahead of other jurisdictions, having put in place MiCA and a handful of other regulations, Foster argued.
“It is recognition of the considerable work that has been accomplished over the last five years,” he said.
MiCA’s rules on stablecoins are already in force and the next phase of regulation – the rules on exchanges – will come into force from the end of December.
2. The new EVPs
Ursula von der Leyen has overhauled the structure of her cabinet, adding executive vice-presidents with broad, shared portfolios to encourage coordinated policy.
The other commissioners will report to these six executive vice-presidents, four of whom are women.
“These different thematic areas will overlap, so commissioners will have to work together to find solutions,” said Vyara Savova, senior policy expert at the European Crypto Initiative.
Finnish Commissioner Henna Virkunnen is Executive Vice-President for “Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy”.
This gives him responsibility for Big Tech and so-called cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence.
It may also be responsible for blockchain technology, as it relates to non-financial services use cases.
3. What does the new cabinet mean for crypto policy?
Foster said that with MiCA still in the works and regulators working on its finer points, lawmakers won’t be releasing more crypto-focused legislation right away.
“Right now it’s more about making sure what’s been done is effective and fit for purpose, and if it’s not, adjusting it,” Foster said.
European crypto policy experts are awaiting a report, expected in early 2025, from the EU outlining its thinking on decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens.
These sectors were not included in MiCA because legislators considered them too nascent to be regulated, but the report will provide a direction for the future.
“Right now it’s more about making sure what’s been done is effective and fit for purpose, and if it’s not, adjusting it.”
— Marc Foster
“The new commissioners will have to approve the report and they will be able to have their own opinion,” Foster said.
Foster said broader geopolitical issues could make crypto policy less of a priority than it has been in the past five years.
The geopolitical context has changed, with for example a war in Ukraine, a more aggressive Russia, a new president in the United States.
“There are big structural problems that the commission will have to try to address,” Foster said.
“This means that individual measures that might be easy to take – revise this or improve that – might be abandoned because the political priorities are so existential,” he added.
Contact the author at joanna@dlnews.com.
