The European Parliament plans to hold a final vote in April.
The European Parliament, one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions, has delayed the final vote on the legalization of Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA).
According to the Parliament spokesperson, the legislative body was forced to postpone the final vote session due to “technical issues,” which are likely connected to translation problems.
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The hefty 400-page document must be translated into 24 official languages of the European Union, including Polish, Irish, French, German and Spanish. Based on the European Union regulations, all legal documents, including MiCA, drafted in English, must be published in all 24 languages before their legalization is considered.
The European Parliament moved the final voting to April. It is worth noting that it is not the first time the EU delayed the date for the final vote. Initially, the vote was supposed to take place at the end of 2022. However, in November, the EU postponed it to February 2023, citing translation issues.
In a nutshell, the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA) is the first attempt by the European Union to control the crypto sector. In particular, MiCA EU will outline rules for stablecoin issuance and licensing firms which provide crypto-related services.
The delay impacts not only the legalization of MiCA but also the Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR), which the EU plans to pass hand in hand with MiCA. The Transfer of Funds Regulation obligates crypto-related service providers to share know-your-customer data on both the recipient and receiver side of the transaction.
It is worth noting that initially, the project for MiCA was introduced to the European Parliament in 2020. Afterwards, in October 2022, the European Council approved the legalization of MiCA.
After FTX’s collapse, the members of the European Parliament urged EU Commission to pass the MiCA regulation as soon as possible, with some members claiming that “a global MiCA would be the best solution.”
