The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the European Central Bank (ECB) Annual Report 2018, in which it calls on the ECB and all supervisory authorities to increase their monitoring of cryptoassets and the increased risks in terms of cybersecurity and money laundering to prevent negative effects on the stability, integrity and safety of the financial sector.
It also agreed with EBA Opinion 2014/08 which suggests refraining from using the term ‘virtual currencies’ because using the term ‘currency’ can be misleading for a variety of reasons.
The EP also took note of the remarks made by Christine Lagarde in the meeting of the Committee on Economic Affairs of 4 September 2019 on the subject of the new regulation of cryptoassets to the effect that:
"The ECB and central banks in general should clearly monitor these developments and contribute to ongoing international work on policy responses".
Further, it asked the ECB, in collaboration with the European Commission, to assess the EU legal and regulatory framework on e-money, financial instruments and virtual assets in order to have a comprehensive framework for the supervision of financial instruments, entities or infrastructures, for anti-money laundering and stability purposes, as well as for cross-border co-operation and co-ordination.
It also asked the ECB to work with the Commission on creating a framework for these new currencies that reconciles innovation, citizens’ needs, the preservation of financial stability and the rule of law.