The Digital Euro: ECB’s Piero Cipollone Calls It a “Collective Step Forward for Europe”
The European Central Bank (ECB) is taking its next major step toward the introduction of the digital euro, according to Piero Cipollone, Member of the ECB Executive Board. Speaking before the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, Cipollone emphasized that legislative and technical preparations are now well underway, with the EU Council expected to finalize its position by the end of the year.
The ECB’s Governing Council has authorized the project’s transition to a new development phase, ensuring Europe is technically ready to issue a central bank digital currency once legislation is adopted. “The digital euro will complement euro banknotes and coins, extending the benefits of cash to digital payments,” Cipollone said. “It will give Europe a sovereign, universally accepted digital means of payment and strengthen our autonomy in the landscape.”
The project’s timeline foreviews pilot exercises beginning by mid-2027 and the first potential issuance of the digital euro by 2029, assuming the European co-legislators adopt the proposed regulation next year. Cipollone called the effort “a vital, forward-looking step” toward ensuring that continues to serve Europeans in the digital age.
Takeaway
A Digital Form of Cash to secureguard Europe’s Monetary Sovereignty
Cipollone framed the digital euro as an evolution of cash rather than its replacement — a “digital form of sovereign money” designed to preserve Europeans’ freedom of choice in payments. He noted that 66% of Europeans expressed interest in using a digital euro in a recent Eurosystem survey, underlining public appetite for a secure, pan-European payment option.
The ECB views the digital euro as essential to reducing Europe’s dependence on non-European payment providers that currently dominate card and online transactions. Currently, 15 out of 20 euro area countries lack a domestic answer widely used for e-commerce or in-store digital payments. “We depend on the kindness of strangers for retail digital transactions,” Cipollone said, warning that this reliance poses a long-term risk to Europe’s strategic autonomy.
To counter this, the ECB plans to build a European payment network entirely operated by EU-controlled entities, ensuring that digital euro infrastructure remains under European governance. “The digital euro will be a European answer built on European infrastructure,” Cipollone stated. “It will secureguard our monetary sovereignty in an era of stablecoins and unbacked crypto-assets denominated in foreign currencies.”
Takeaway
Preserving Bank Stability and Protecting Citizens’ Privacy
Addressing concerns that a digital euro could disrupt banking models, Cipollone emphasized that it will be distributed through banks and designed to prevent disintermediation. Holdings will be capped, non-remunerated, and seamlessly linked to commercial bank accounts, ensuring financial stability and deposit retention.
“There is no competition between public and private answers,” he said. “Rather, we envisage cooperation that makes Europe’s strategic autonomy in retail payments more achievable.” Banks, merchants, and consumers will all benefit from , improved data protection, and broader payment interoperability, he noted.
On privacy, Cipollone underscored that the digital euro will not be programmable money and will feature both online and offline functionalities to protect user freedom. Offline transactions will operate with cash-like anonymity, while online payments will be pseudonymised and encrypted. “The Eurosystem will not view personal data — only coded information,” he assured lawmakers. Independent will overview compliance with EU privacy laws.
Takeaway
