Despite many political promises, Europe continues to lose ground and independence in the digital world. With a new strategy (and billions of euros of European funding), the Commission wants to reclaim much of the digital territory. With Europe’s digital future at stake, the coming years will be decisive.

In recent months, the Coronavirus pandemic has warranted the use of an unprecedented amount of data and heralded a new era in the cooperation between the telecom industry and public authorities.

On 18 February 2019, the European Competitiveness Council approved the Coordinated Plan for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the European Union as part of its two-day policy debate on competitiveness of the EU’s internal market and industry, based on conclusions of the Council of the European Union (at COREPER level) adopted on 6 February 2019

Don’t you feel irritated when your Uber rating suddenly plummets without any apparent reason? Or when you get rebuffed by Airbnb because of ‘unfair’ negative feedback received from a previous host. Nevertheless, you continue to appreciate these 21st-century ways of transactions, enjoy the many benefits they have, and you are always ready to argue in their favour (especially when compared to their conventional rivals).

As a response to significant public attention and interest, policymakers from all member states are racing to ensure blockchain technology is well understood and regulated accordingly. In this context, what is the current state of affairs regarding blockchain regulation in the European Union?