Social media provider Facebook’s planned stablecoin Libra is now staring at opposition from a group of five European Union countries.
The effort to pour cold water over Facebook’s Libra endeavor is led by France, with co-operation from Italy, Germay, the Netherlands and Spain.
Referring to sources well aware of the issue, Politico reports that deputy finance ministers of the aforesaid countries have expressed their collective view against Libra to other EU legislators at an unofficial meeting in Brussels on October 28.
As per the report, the group aims to halt the launch of Libra in Europe and also put pressure on Facebook and other enterprises who are part of the Libra Foundation to drop the venture.
In this regard, diplomats in Eurozone and European Commission (EC) have reportedly affirmed to Politico that the group is motivating the EU governments to look into the option of prohibiting Libra altogether.
Nevertheless, a blanket ban on Libra project could be troublesome for the Commission, according to the officials. As per Politico, such a move would necessitate Brussels to offer a legal explanation to prohibit the venture and also additional regulations that need to be implemented.
Furthermore, EC officials have also suggested a cautious approach against tough measures in connection to Libra, citing worries about unwanted issues that arise in the EU due to new tech related products and services.
According to Politico, officials are drafting a joint statement to be published in December. The draft is anticipated to include a statement saying that Libra should not be allowed unless the EU is able to regulate it.
Earlier this month, at the G7 meeting, Germany, France and Italy had proposed the plan of banning Libra after finance ministers debated the threats of stablecoins to the financial system.
On October 22, ING CEO Ralph Hamers, opined that banks may even withdraw their services to Facebook if the enterprise rolls out Libra. Earlier, the UK’s central bank disclosed a list of rules that must be complied by Libra in order to be introduced in the country.
