HELSINKI — France and Germany on Friday threw cold water on Facebooks plans to launch a virtual currency, saying they would combat any effort by the company to “claim monetary power.”
“France and Germany consider that the Libra project, as set out in Facebooks blueprint, fails to convince that those risks will be properly addressed,” Paris and Berlin wrote a joint-statement at the Ecofin gathering in Helsinki. “We believe that no private entity can claim monetary power, which is inherent to the sovereignty of Nations.”
Frances finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, used the occasion to reiterate his opposition to Libra, which the social media giant plans to launch next year for its 2.6 billion users.
“We should refuse the development of Libra in Europe,” Le Maire said on the sidelines of a gathering in Helsinki, where EU finance ministers met for two days of informal talks on climate change and capital markets.
“I think its wiser to think about a public digital currency and to think about the measures that the European banks might adopt to [address] the cost and the delays of international transactions,” he added.
Facebooks plans have spooked policymakers and regulators around the world, especially as the social media behemoth Read More – Source
