Cipollone calls for year-end digital euro legislation
European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member Piero Cipollone called for adoption of the Single Currency Package by year-end. Speaking at the European Parliament in Brussels, he said legal certainty is needed to complete digital euro preparations.
Legislation sets the issuance clock
Cipollone welcomed Parliament's broad plenary support for the Single Currency Package on July 9 as democratic backing for the digital euro.
Addressing its Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on November 10, 2026, he called for swift completion of trilogue negotiations.
Adoption by year-end, as envisaged in the One Europe, One Market Roadmap, would provide legal certainty to complete preparations.
A planned date for possible first issuance can be set only after adoption of the Regulation.
He warned that legislative delay could postpone introduction, entrench Europe's dependence on foreign providers and hamper European companies' ability to innovate and compete.
He also thanked Parliament for its work and constructive dialogue.
Pontes moves beyond experimentation
Launched in September, Pontes connects market distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms with the Eurosystem's TARGET Services, enabling tokenised transactions to settle in central bank money.
It onboarded 18 market participants and market DLT operators on day one, with others preparing to join.
On November 2, it settled the European Stability Mechanism's first digitally native benchmark bond, worth €1 billion.
Cipollone described the transaction as advancing European tokenised finance from experimentation to adoption.
Two tracks, different stages
The digital euro's timetable remains conditional on legislation.
Pontes, by contrast, already settles tokenised transactions in central bank money.
Cipollone links both projects to European payment innovation while distinguishing legal preparation from operational delivery.