Digital euro advances, issuance decision by year-end

ECB Executive Board Member Piero Cipollone highlighted the digital euro's significant legislative progress, with the European Parliament's recent approval marking a crucial milestone.

Despite initial lawmaker skepticism, the approved text largely aligns with proposals from the European Commission and the Council.

Three versions of the draft legislation exist, with negotiations between the institutions commencing this month to finalize the text by year-end.

Cipollone expressed the ECB's general satisfaction, particularly emphasizing the need to reinforce the requirement for payment service providers to support the ECB's digital euro app.

This app is designed for universal access, resilience, and accessibility beyond current European standards.

The project's approval by almost 70% of Parliament members and unanimous agreement in the EU Council underscore its strong democratic support, refuting claims of it being a divisive initiative.

The digital euro is designed to bolster Europe's strategic autonomy in payments.

Piero Cipollone highlighted that two-thirds of European card transactions depend on non-European systems, creating a significant vulnerability.

The digital euro will guarantee secure, pan-European payments via European infrastructure, fostering confidence and monetary sovereignty.

It offers simplicity, providing a unified payment method across the EU, unlike national solutions such as MB WAY that often lack cross-border acceptance.

A key innovation is offline payment functionality, enabling smartphone-to-smartphone transactions without internet, a crucial benefit during power outages.