European ministers block release of Facebook Libra in EU for the time being

European ministers have decided to temporarily block the release of the Facebook Libra currency in Europe. The ministers and the European Commission first want to make rules for such ‘stablecoins’.

Due to the ruling, Facebook is not allowed to offer its currency in the European Union for the time being, according to a statement from European ministers and the European Commission. “No stablecoin should be launched in the European Union until regulatory and regulatory challenges and risks have been adequately identified and addressed.”

In the statement, the ministers note that Libra has provided too little information to check whether the project complies with the rules. “This lack of adequate information makes it difficult to draw conclusions about whether and how current European rules apply.”

The ruling is another setback for Facebook’s project, after partners such as PayPal and the parent company of Booking.com dropped out in recent months. The company has not yet commented on the new development.

Facebook announced Libra in June. Officially, a non-profit organization based in Switzerland is responsible for the payment method, but the initiative lies with Facebook, which wants to use the payment method on its platform. Other parties that pledged support in the announcement include eBay, Spotify, Uber, Lyft and Vodafone.