Five European Union Countries Team Up to Block Libra: Report

Five European Union member countries are purportedly creating a unified front against the issuance of Facebook’s proposed Libra stablecoin.

Five European Union member countries have reportedly teamed up to prevent the issuance of Facebook’s stablecoin Libra.

Private meetings to turn EU against Libra

Following a series of private meetings in October, France is reportedly leading the anti-Libra effort with Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, political news publication Politico Europe reports on Oct. 30.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, Politico states that the countries’ deputy finance ministers have presented their unified position against Libra to other EU ministers at a private meeting on Oct. 28 in Brussels.

According to the report, the group intends to prevent Libra from launching in Europe as well as increase pressure on Facebook and other members of the Libra Foundation to give up on the project. Eurozone diplomats and European Commission (EC) officials reportedly confirmed to Politico that the coalition is encouraging EU governments to consider banning Libra altogether.

The European Commission cannot ban Libra without a legal reason

However, a complete ban of Libra could be problematic for the Commission, the officials reportedly said. According to Politico, such an action would require Brussels to provide a legal reason to ban the initiative as well as more details on what rules should be applied. 

Moreover, EC officials have also called for more caution against rigorous measures in relation to Libra, raising concerns about its negative impact on the development of new technology-driven products and services in the European Union.

Per Politico, the officials are working on a statement that will come out in December, in which they claim that Libra should not be allowed to launch unless the EU can regulate it. France, Germany and Italy had already suggested the idea of banning Libra back at the G7 meeting in mid-October after finance ministers discussed the risks associated with stablecoins, the report notes.

On Oct. 22, ING CEO Ralph Hamers argued that banks could stop providing services to Facebook if the firm launches Libra. Previously, the United Kingdom’s central bank revealed a set of rules that Libra must comply with in order to be issued in the country.