The delegated acts are the first of a series to complement and complete the EU regulatory frameworks on cybersecurity matters for the financial sector and cryptoassets.

Part A of the best practices report covers the observations and best practices from the early stages of setting up the sandbox and communicating it publicly, through the first applications phase and selection of the first cohort of use cases, to the outreach to regulators and authorities, and the beginning of the first set of dialogues.

The aim of the project is to "provide a framework for regulators, supervising authorities and blockchain innovators to engage in regulatory dialogue, identify obstacles from a legal and regulatory perspective in a safe and confidential environment", and thus increase "legal certainty for innovative decentralized technology solutions, including blockchain". The Sandbox allows regulators and supervisors to "enhance their knowledge of cutting edge blockchain technologies".

Section 6 covers the energy consumption of the ICT sector, with subsection 6.4  looking specifically at energy consumption of cryptocurrencies. 

Given the current energy crisis and the heightened risks for the coming winter, the Commission is urging Member States to "(i) implement targeted and proportionate measures to lower the electricity consumption of cryptoasset miners, in line with the proposed Council Regulation on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices, and (ii), also in a longer term perspective, to put an end to tax breaks and other fiscal measures benefitting cryptominers currently in force in certain Member States. In case there is a need for load shedding in the electricity systems, the Member States must also be ready to stop cryptoassets mining."

The Commission said it will develop a report by 2025 that includes a description of the environmental and climate impact of new technologies in the cryptoasset market. The report will also include an assessment of policy options to "mitigate adverse impacts on the climate of technologies used in the cryptoasset market, in particular in relation to consensus mechanisms."

The Commission also published FAQS on the action plan.

The proposed Path to the Digital Decade will translate the EUʼs digital ambitions for 2030 into a concrete delivery mechanism.

It will set up a governance framework based on an annual cooperation mechanism with Member States to reach the 2030 Digital Decade targets at Union level in the areas of digital skills, digital infrastructures, digitalisation of businesses and public services.

It also aims to identify and implement large-scale digital projects involving the Commission and the Member States.

The Commission proposes to engage in an annual cooperation mechanism with Member States that will consist of:

• A structured, transparent and shared monitoring system based on the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) to measure progress towards each of the 2030 targets, including key performance indicators;
• An annual report on the ‘State of the Digital Decade', in which the Commission will evaluate progress and provide recommendations for actions. In particular, the report will
• identify the areas where further action is needed,
• analyse investment or other resource gaps and highlight the actions needed to increase the EU’s digital sovereignty, and
• assess the implementation of relevant regulatory proposals and the actions undertaken at EU and Member States level;
• Multi-annual digital decade strategic roadmaps for each Member State, in which they will outline adopted or planned policies and measures in support of the 2030 targets;
• A structured annual framework to discuss and address areas of insufficient progress through recommendations and joint commitments between the Commission and the Member States;
• A mechanism to support the implementation of multi-country projects.

The Commission states that the Digital Services Act will:

• Establish clearer and more modern rules concerning the obligations of online intermediaries, including non-EU companies operating in the EU.
• Implement a more effective governance and enforcement system.
• Ensure a level playing field in the digital markets, noting that a lot of the market power currently remains in the hands of a few online platforms. This could include rules on self-preferencing and/or regulatory obligations for powerful platforms.

The consultation covers two work strands.

The first set of rules would relate to the fundamentals of the e-commerce directive, in particular the freedom to provide digital services across the EU single market in accordance with the rules of the place of establishment and a broad limitation of liability for content created by users. Building on these principles, we aim to establish clearer and modern rules concerning the role and obligations of online intermediaries, including non-EU ones active in the EU, as well as a more effective governance system to ensure that such rules are correctly enforced across the EU single Market while guaranteeing the respect of fundamental rights.

The second measure would address the issue of the level playing field in European digital markets, where currently a few large online platforms act as gatekeepers. We will explore rules to address these market imbalances, to ensure that consumers have the widest choice and that the EU single market for digital services remains competitive and open to innovation. This could be through additional general rules for all platforms of a certain scale, such as rules on self-preferencing, and/or through tailored regulatory obligations for specific gatekeepers, such as non-personal data access obligations, specific requirements regarding personal data portability, or interoperability requirements.

In addition, the Commission is also taking the opportunity to consult on other emerging issues related to online platforms, such as the opportunities and challenges that self-employed people face in providing services through online platforms.

The consultation closes on 8 September 2020 and the European Commission expects to publish its proposals for the Act at the end of 2020.