ECB eyes 2029 as a realistic timeline for launching a digital euro

On Tuesday, the European Central Bank’s board member Piero Cipollone said that the bank has earmarked 2029 as a realistic timeline for establishing a digital euro. He acknowledged that the digital euro will essentially be an online payment wallet backed by the central bank.

The ECB board member revealed that the EU Parliament, the European Council, and the European Commission may have their respective positions by May 2026, after which the trio will begin working on legislation. Cipollone said the ECB will require between two and a half and three years to launch the currency.

EU’s finance ministers agree on digital euro’s launch roadmap

The bloc’s finance ministers agreed on a roadmap for launching a digital euro on Friday. The digital currency aims to become an alternative to the current dominant U.S.-based Visa and Mastercard system.

This year, the EU has ramped up discussions on a digital wallet backed by the European Central Bank, seeking to reduce its dependence on other nations in key areas like finance, energy, and defence. The central bank is also pushing for the digital euro as a response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s global push for stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar.

The bloc’s central bank is yet to secure legislative approval for stablecoins. EU lawmakers and bankers have complained that stablecoins may hollow out banks’ coffers, curtail privacy, or cost a lot.

Ministers from the 27-nation bloc met with Lagarde and European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis in Copenhagen on Friday, where they agreed on the next steps on the digital euro. The meeting was meant to determine whether a digital currency will be issued and how many euros each resident can hold. The initiative is seen as significant for easing fears of a run on bank deposits.

Paschal Donohoe, who chairs meetings of finance ministers, mentioned that the meeting reached a conclusion that, before the ECB makes a final decision in relation to issuance, there would be an opportunity for a discussion in the Council of Ministers. He also revealed a celebrated compromise with Lagarde and Dombrovskis on the procedure for setting the holding limit, but they didn’t disclose further details.

The European Commission proposed a digital euro legislation in June 2023, but the European Parliament and the European Council have yet to sign off on it. The European Council is also looking to complete its part of the work by the end of 2025.

Witlox says digital euro to become legal tender after legislation approval

Cryptopolitan previously reported that the program director in charge of ECB’s Digital Euro project, Evelien Witlox, said in June that it’s likely, but not inevitable, that a digital euro would be established in Europe. At the fintech conference, Money20/20, she said the digital euro will become legal tender once the draft legislation is adopted.

Witlox mentioned that the ECB finds the dependence on non-European players not good for Europe’s economic sovereignty. She questioned what would happen if, at one moment in time, the providers were unable to provide their services for one reason or another. 

The ECB’s official added that there are some serious concerns about the amount of data involved in payments with non-European service providers. She argued that there are widespread concerns that digital assets would allow governments to spy on people’s payments. Witlox reiterated the ECB’s stance on ensuring privacy would be an important design feature.

Witlox revealed that the digital euro would not be programmable or designed to be used only in certain circumstances, like vouchers. The ECB also said it has not yet decided whether or not a digital euro will use blockchain technology like Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.

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