Digital Omnibus proposal· Recital 16
Text
Recital 16 Digital Omnibus proposal as printed in the Council text of 22 October 2026
Source Council, 22 October 2026. Recital 16: ST 14756/26, page 11 · exact text page
In order to mitigate legal uncertainties that could discourage innovative business models, it is necessary to address the substantial compliance ambiguities and burdens associated with the provisions on smart contracts executing data sharing agreements under Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854. The absence of harmonised standards and clear definitions for key concepts such as ‘robustness’, ‘access control’, and ‘consistency with contractual terms’, combined with the requirement for a ‘safe termination or interruption mechanism’ potentially incompatible with decentralised or public blockchain architectures built on immutable ledgers, posed challenges to innovators from a cost and opportunity perspective. Additionally, the ambiguity surrounding the performance of the conformity assessment under Article 36(2) of that Regulation risks imposing disproportionate burdens. The elimination of Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 would therefore promote the development and market introduction of new business models, foster innovation, and reduce barriers for emerging technologies.
How the recital changed
Each text against the text before it
| Recital | Commission19 Nov 2025Rec 16 | Council21 May 2026 | Council10 Jun 2026Rec 16 | Council18 Jun 2026Rec 16 | Council3 Sep 2026Rec 16 | Council2 Oct 2026Rec 16 | Council22 Oct 2026Rec 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compared with | law in force | the proposal | 21 May text | 10 Jun text | 18 Jun text | 3 Sep text | 2 Oct text |
| Recital 16 | 16 Added | In neither text | 16 Unchanged | 16 Unchanged | 16 Unchanged | 16 Unchanged | 16 Unchanged |
Each text against the text before it: +Added in this text, not in the text before=Unchanged same as the text before— in neither text
Parliament amendments
5 amendments to this recital
5 amendments would delete the whole recital: members of S&D and Greens/EFA, and the JURI rapporteur and the IMCO rapporteur.
| Type | S&D | Greens/EFA | Rapporteur |
|---|---|---|---|
| − Deletion | 1 | 2 | 2 |
By political group
- − Deletion S&D 1 Greens/EFA 2 Rapporteur 2
7 −Deletion Brando Benifei (rapporteur)Rapporteur · JURI Deletes the recital
(16) In order to mitigate legal uncertainties that could discourage innovative business models, it is necessary to address the substantial compliance ambiguities and burdens associated with the provisions on smart contracts executing data sharing agreements under Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854. The absence of harmonised standards and clear definitions for key concepts such as ‘robustness’, ‘access control’, and ‘consistency with contractual terms’, combined with the requirement for a ‘safe termination or interruption mechanism’ potentially incompatible with decentralised or public blockchain architectures built on immutable ledgers, posed challenges to innovators from a cost and opportunity perspective. Additionally, the ambiguity surrounding the performance of the conformity assessment under Article 36(2) of that Regulation risks imposing disproportionate burdens. The elimination of Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 would therefore promote the development and market introduction of new business models, foster innovation, and reduce barriers for emerging technologies.Justification
The deletion of Article 36 would remove important minimum safeguards ensuring that smart contracts used in data-sharing agreements remain secure, interoperable and controllable. While legal uncertainty concerns should be addressed, a complete removal of the framework risks creating a regulatory gap in automated data-sharing systems, potentially weakening trust, interoperability and legal certainty.
- Rapporteur
- Brando Benifei
- Group
- Rapporteur
- Targets
- Digital Omnibus proposal Recital 16
- Document
- JURI draft opinion
- Source
- Official text, page 11
- Printed header
- Recital 16
12 −Deletion Alex Agius Saliba (rapporteur)Rapporteur · IMCO Deletes the recital
(16) In order to mitigate legal uncertainties that could discourage innovative business models, it is necessary to address the substantial compliance ambiguities and burdens associated with the provisions on smart contracts executing data sharing agreements under Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854. The absence of harmonised standards and clear definitions for key concepts such as ‘robustness’, ‘access control’, and ‘consistency with contractual terms’, combined with the requirement for a ‘safe termination or interruption mechanism’ potentially incompatible with decentralised or public blockchain architectures built on immutable ledgers, posed challenges to innovators from a cost and opportunity perspective. Additionally, the ambiguity surrounding the performance of the conformity assessment under Article 36(2) of that Regulation risks imposing disproportionate burdens. The elimination of Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 would therefore promote the development and market introduction of new business models, foster innovation, and reduce barriers for emerging technologies.- Rapporteur
- Alex Agius Saliba
- Group
- Rapporteur
- Targets
- Digital Omnibus proposal Recital 16
- Document
- IMCO draft opinion
- Source
- Official text, page 14
- Printed header
- Recital 16
96 −Deletion David CormandGreens/EFA · JURI Deletes the recital
(16) In order to mitigate legal uncertainties that could discourage innovative business models, it is necessary to address the substantial compliance ambiguities and burdens associated with the provisions on smart contracts executing data sharing agreements under Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854. The absence of harmonised standards and clear definitions for key concepts such as ‘robustness’, ‘access control’, and ‘consistency with contractual terms’, combined with the requirement for a ‘safe termination or interruption mechanism’ potentially incompatible with decentralised or public blockchain architectures built on immutable ledgers, posed challenges to innovators from a cost and opportunity perspective. Additionally, the ambiguity surrounding the performance of the conformity assessment under Article 36(2) of that Regulation risks imposing disproportionate burdens. The elimination of Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 would therefore promote the development and market introduction of new business models, foster innovation, and reduce barriers for emerging technologies.- Tabled by
- David Cormand
- Group
- Greens/EFA
- Targets
- Digital Omnibus proposal Recital 16
- Document
- JURI amendments 69–296 to the draft opinion
- Printed header
- Recital 16
149 −Deletion David CormandGreens/EFA · IMCO Deletes the recital
(16) In order to mitigate legal uncertainties that could discourage innovative business models, it is necessary to address the substantial compliance ambiguities and burdens associated with the provisions on smart contracts executing data sharing agreements under Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854. The absence of harmonised standards and clear definitions for key concepts such as ‘robustness’, ‘access control’, and ‘consistency with contractual terms’, combined with the requirement for a ‘safe termination or interruption mechanism’ potentially incompatible with decentralised or public blockchain architectures built on immutable ledgers, posed challenges to innovators from a cost and opportunity perspective. Additionally, the ambiguity surrounding the performance of the conformity assessment under Article 36(2) of that Regulation risks imposing disproportionate burdens. The elimination of Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 would therefore promote the development and market introduction of new business models, foster innovation, and reduce barriers for emerging technologies.- Tabled by
- David Cormand on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
- Group
- Greens/EFA
- Targets
- Digital Omnibus proposal Recital 16
- Document
- IMCO amendments 125–328 to the draft opinion
- Printed header
- Recital 16
160 −Deletion Elena Sancho Murillo +6S&D · ITRE–LIBE Deletes the recital
(16) In order to mitigate legal uncertainties that could discourage innovative business models, it is necessary to address the substantial compliance ambiguities and burdens associated with the provisions on smart contracts executing data sharing agreements under Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854. The absence of harmonised standards and clear definitions for key concepts such as ‘robustness’, ‘access control’, and ‘consistency with contractual terms’, combined with the requirement for a ‘safe termination or interruption mechanism’ potentially incompatible with decentralised or public blockchain architectures built on immutable ledgers, posed challenges to innovators from a cost and opportunity perspective. Additionally, the ambiguity surrounding the performance of the conformity assessment under Article 36(2) of that Regulation risks imposing disproportionate burdens. The elimination of Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 would therefore promote the development and market introduction of new business models, foster innovation, and reduce barriers for emerging technologies.- Tabled by
- Elena Sancho Murillo, Marina Kaljurand, Brando Benifei, José Cepeda, Lina Gálvez, Francisco Assis, Alex Agius Saliba
- Group
- S&D
- Targets
- Digital Omnibus proposal Recital 16
- Document
- ITRE–LIBE amendments 79–250 to the draft report
- Source
- Official text, page 80
- Printed header
- Recital 16