During the last couple of years, more and more countries have begun researching the benefits associated with the adoption of blockchain technology. Now, it seems like the European Commission is showcasing interest as well.
According to recent reports, the European Commission has recently decided to start up and fund a €250,000 study, meant to learn more about the opportunities alongside with the feasibility of blockchain infrastructure in the European Union.
So far, it seems like the main purpose of the study is to determine if, and when the blockchain will be able to help public authorities within the region to offer better services, and implement policies in a more optimized way, deemed to be more secure and efficient. Not only this, but the study will also carry out an examination of the challenges, and benefits of developing and adopting a blockchain-based framework for the EU.
According to a post, “The overall objective is to help creating conducive environments for implementing more effective public policies, easing private sector engagement with the authorities, developing innovative ecosystems and applications, showing leadership and reinforcing the competitive edge of Europe and its blockchain innovators at a global level.“
Not only this, as it has also been mentioned that: “The study will examine the existing initiatives at national or local level and will address how to dimension such an infrastructure at EU level, including which services could run on such infrastructure.”
As the research study is about to be launched, the European Commission is actively calling for proposals. Those who are interested can go ahead and submit various ideas for the study, which will further be researched by the EC-designated team. The last day for the receipt of these tenders is 19th of January 2018. From that point onwards, it is expected that the 250,000 EUR study will begin.
So far, we are unsure whether the European Commission will sponsor any blockchain-based project once the research study will end. However, given the fact that numerous other countries are starting to develop their own distributed ledger technology projects, chances are that this will also be a possibility in the near future.
Based on everything that has been outlined so far, what conclusions will the European Commission-funded blockchain study bring from your point of view? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
