The European Union is planning a $177 billion investment to support technological development in the region. EU officials want to adopt EU-wide legal standards with respect to digital assets. They are quite serious about funding emerging technologies in areas like blockchain, 5G, data infrastructure, and quantum computing among others, Coin Telegraph reported, citing Bloomberg.
The planned investment is a fifth of EU stimulus package
The planned investment fund is about a fifth of the EUR 750 billion stimulus package EU leaders agreed on last year to combat the economic consequences of the pandemic. In her State of the Union address, EC President Ursula von der Leyen drew attention to the importance of investing in digital technology for the entire region. On that note, Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market, stated:
“Europe is determined to lead in the global technological race. Setting ourselves 2030 targets was an important step, but now we need to deliver. We must ensure that Europe is not in a position of great dependence in the years to come. Otherwise, we will remain too exposed to the ups and downs of the world, and miss out on economic growth and job creation. I believe in a Europe that leads on the markets of the future, not one that is a mere subcontractor.”
EU plans investments in low-power processor production
Part of the investment will be in production of low-power processors to prevent semiconductor shortage, which is damaging to many industries all over the world.
Insistance on EU-wide legal standards
Earlier this month, six companies were selected to support the early-stage development of an EU distributed ledger technology project, the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure. To ward off regulatory fragmentation, EU officials want to adopt EU-wide legal standards for digital assets. There are indications that the EU and the US might start cooperating in the area of drafting crypto and blockchain regulation standards.
Most EU countries support creation of national cryptocurrency
In related news, a recent poll by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for Euronews of 31,000 respondents from Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain showed the majority supported the creation of a national cryptocurrency. Their support is justified by the argument of becoming financially independent from the European Union.
Respondents from Greece (40%), Italy (41%) and Estonia (39%) demonstrated the biggest support. Going against the grain, 37% of respondents from the Netherlands expressed opposition compared to just 18% in favor of the prospect.
