The European Commission is seeking advice for a public-sector blockchain
The European Commission will issue a call for tenders for legal advice to help with its public sector blockchain project.
The contract is worth €60,000 and applicants have been asked to address “all conceivable relevant legal questions and challenges arising from the operation of the EBSI infrastructure” at both the network level and in terms of use cases.
The so-called European Blockchain Services Infrastructure is envisaged as a “blockchain backbone infrastructure for the public sector with, over time, interoperability with private sector platforms”.
The idea is that every member of the European Blockchain Partnership – which includes the 27 EU members, Norway, Liechtenstein and the European Commission itself – will run at least one node.
Its development will be financed from 2021 onwards under the Digital Europe Programme, which is focused on building the strategic digital capabilities of the EU.
Applicants for the tender have been asked to provide advice on potential legal vehicles that could operate the EBSI infrastructure, as well addressing as the legal implications of different governance structures for permissioned public blockchains.
