The EU’s plans for a digital euro are starting to take shape. The European Commission is expected to present its proposals for this at the end of the month – on 28 June. This initiative aims to define and regulate “central aspects” of the digital euro, as announced by the European Commission Representation in Germany.
Once the regulation is passed, the European Central Bank (ECB) will be able to issue this digital money in accordance with its objectives and mandate. A Commission representative stressed that a digital euro should complement cash, not replace it. A legal framework must be created at the initiative of the European Commission. The ECB should later adopt the specific design.
“The digital euro would create a means of payment that would be accepted and accessible to all citizens everywhere in Europe. We don’t have that today,” explains the representative of the EU Commission. Commercial banks must be able to give citizens, but also companies, access to the digital euro: “Of course, these are also opportunities to build additional services on top of the digital euro – such as innovative means of payment,” it said.
More competition
With the digital euro, there would then be an additional provider of payment transactions that would join Visa, Mastercard and other providers: “It is certainly in the interest of the commercial banks that you have a more diversified and perhaps a bit more competitive market here. explained the Commission official.
According to reports, the European Commission is also interested in supporting Europe’s open strategic autonomy with the digital euro: “It is important that in Europe, as one of the payment transaction systems at our disposal, we also have a public European one.”
Introduction at the earliest in three years
According to the ECB, a digital euro could be introduced in three or four years. The condition is that the Council of the ECB, the member states and the European Parliament give the green light to the project, ECB director Fabio Panetta recently announced. In autumn 2021, the ECB started a two-year research phase to determine the core properties of a digital euro.
ECB boss Christine Lagarde recently made it clear that the central bank would not get in the way of banks with their traditional business model when introducing the digital euro. “We will ensure that we cooperate sufficiently and on good terms.” A digital euro, if it comes, will not work as “absolutely anonymous” as cash, but will still respect people’s privacy.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
