Europe patina. Where Asia is experimenting with and the United States invests in turn, the old continent procrastinates. The blockchain, however carrying an immense potential for the health sector, advances in Europe as a snail on a highway. Is this slowness asking an embarrassing question: is technological disruption really perceived as a priority by European leaders?
In short
- The other countries innovate, the EU multiplies regulations.
- Europe remains a disunited technological patchwork.
- Blockchain in the health sector suffers from amalgams with cryptocurrencies.
Paralyzing regulations despite the right intentions
European regulation, designed to clarify, ends up discouraging. The mica regulation wanted harmonize the marketbut it scares the small actors. The weight of administrative requirements kills in the egg a number of initiatives. “” Startups, in particular, do not want to fight in the legal jungle “, underlines Volker Nürnbergprofessor at the Munich you.
In Germany, the situation is caricatured. Awarded projects such as electronic orders have never been deployed. And the GDPRyet based on commendable principles, becomes One more barrier. The blockchain works on transparency, when the regulations require erasure. For Lukas Weidener, this contradiction is heavy:
These regulations can cause Germany to lose its place in the global development of technology.
We hope that this rigor will become a competitive advantage. But to date, it acts above all as a brake.
A fractured Europe, a parts market
Within European borders, strategies differ. Estonia digitizes its condition with the blockchainGermany experiences digital identity, Switzerland attracts Cryptos unicorns. But this technological patchwork harms consistency.
Result: systems unable to communicate with each other. “” Fragmentation complicates pan -European projects », Deplores Nürnberg again.
There healthfor its part, remains an ultra-regulated fieldlittle inclined to audacity. And yet, blockchain could transform everyday life: secure data sharing, integrity of clinical trials, traceability of drugs.
Without a common framework, these promises remain a dead letter. Worse still: Each country imposes its standards, making cross -border projects almost impossible. A technology supposed to connect data is, in Europe, prevented by administrative borders.
Blockchain: a tarnished image, a badly understood potential
The blockchain suffers fromA sulphurous reputation. Too often assimilated to crypto speculation, it inspires mistrust than enthusiasm. “” Some officials still see blockchain as a digital casino », Quits an expert.
Yet, In the health sector, use cases are solid. Immutable patient files, secure teleconsultations, reimbursement automation via smart contracts, etc. The land is fertile. But the gardeners are missing. The fear of the unknown, reinforced by the Crypto scandalsblocks institutional curiosity. Even the potential environmental benefits of certain blockchains cannot convince.
Weidener sets foot in the dish:
The perceived energy consumption of blockchains dissuades decision -makers, especially where sustainability is priority.
The amalgam is unfair, but real. And as long as innovation is perceived as a risk rather than an opportunity, it will not find a fertile ground.
It is no coincidence that South Korea or the United States is getting ahead. There, we finance, we test, we adjust. In Europe, we regulate. Many observers agree: the EU gives the image of a bureaucrat continent, quick to supervise, slow to innovate. Talents spin, projects migrate, standards are fixed elsewhere. And Europe comments. If she wants to weigh tomorrow, she will have to dare today. Without that, the blockchain in health will only be one more failed meeting.
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