The Sandbox initiative is carried out by the European Commission in an effort to establish a pan-European framework for regulatory dialogues to increase legal certainty for innovative blockchain technology solutions. Their use cases involve Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT), which offer a structured approach for constructive regulatory discussions between innovators and regulators, spanning diverse industry sectors. The European Blockchain Regulatory Sandbox project will run from 2023 to 2026 and will annually support 20 innovative use cases involving DLT.
The digitalisation of customs processes is the basis of the Open Customs Blockchain’s mission. It introduces European-made, open source blockchain software into logistics and customs processing to simplify data exchange and increase transparency in cross-border supply chains. It aims to speed up border processes, decrease transit times, reduce the need for physical inspections at the border and finally make international trade more sustainable by replacing current paper-based documentation with a more efficient, trustworthy technology: Blockchain.
The expected outcomes of the Working Group’s project include ensuring more transparency in supply chains, more efficient data sharing, faster trade processes and improved means of checking, due to blockchain as a trustworthy source of verifiable information. Simultaneously, this is expected to reduce risks of fraud, evasion of duty and undervaluation. Additionally, It could help ease the post-Brexit border delays between the EU and UK.
Following our participation in the initiative, a thorough approach to the regulatory conversation is ensured by our direct involvement with customs authorities, supported by professional legal advice from Bird & Bird, along with the scientific competence of Fraunhofer IML and the practical skills of ALS Customs Services. The outcomes will also be incorporated into the Foundation’s work, providing advantages to all of our members collectively.
The selection was done by blockchain experts, and overseen by independent academics. The other 19 selected use cases include ACCUDIRE, Almaviva, Anotherblock, Blockchain Italia, Chunk Works, COINFIRM, Commissariat à l’énergie atomique, Compellio (Uni Systems), deltaDAO, DNV, EBSI Verifiable Credentials Use Case, Equilibrium, Eviden (Atos), Globallogic (Nuggets), INO MTÜ, Lokovice / unBlock (Murcia City Counsel, LleidaNetworks Serveis Telematics, Bankerex Financial, ES SOLO Holdings), Stichting 2Tokens (Rabobank, ABN AMRO Bank, Catena Investment, Enercoin, Catena Power), Traent and Twinu. After the confidential regulatory dialogues are completed, a best practices report will be published.
We are looking forward to the journey ahead. Learn more about the Open Customs Blockchain use cases here: https://urx1.com/QfJKn
