{"id":93679,"date":"2026-01-28T20:17:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=93679"},"modified":"2026-01-28T20:20:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:20:31","slug":"ecb-cites-sovereignty-in-push-for-digital-euro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/ecb-cites-sovereignty-in-push-for-digital-euro\/","title":{"rendered":"ECB Cites Sovereignty in Push for Digital Euro"},"content":{"rendered":"

Increasing geopolitical tensions are bolstering the case for a European digital payment system under local control, according to Piero Cipollone, a member of the executive board of the ECB<\/span>, in an interview with El Pais<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He described CBDC<\/a> as “state money in virtual form,” necessary to complement cash and address the fragmentation of the payment landscape in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The official provided specific data: in 2024, the share of fiat in the value of everyday transactions fell to about a quarter (24%), significantly lower than the 2019 figure of 40%.<\/p>\n

According to him, the situation compels the ECB to evolve in its methods of providing money as a public good to eurozone citizens.<\/p>\n

Cipollone directly linked this task to the geopolitical context. He warned that “the instrumentalisation of any possible resource” and rising global tensions make the need for a European retail payment system, built on local technologies and infrastructure, even more pressing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Such a system should be capable of meeting all of Europe’s payment needs without creating “excessive dependence” on foreign schemes, according to the ECB chair.<\/p>\n

He also highlighted the status of the digital euro as legal tender. Cipollone stated that any vendor already accepting digital payments “will be obliged to accept” this new form, effectively implying a mandatory regime for CBDC transactions.<\/p>\n

Digital Euro as a Catalyst for a Unified EU Payment Space<\/h2>\n

Cipollone rejected proposals to delay the project in anticipation of a purely corporate solution, reminding that “the ECB has been urging the private sector for years to develop a pan-European solution,” which has yet to materialise.<\/p>\n

He is convinced that the launch of the digital euro with a single open standard, mandatory for acceptance by all merchants, will not displace private companies. On the contrary, it will incentivise banks and fintech firms to build a truly pan-European payment layer.<\/p>\n

Cipollone also opposed the idea of limiting the digital euro to an offline format. According to him, one of the project’s key goals is to address the lack of a European alternative for online payments in e-commerce.<\/p>\n

His statement came in the wake of an open letter<\/a> dated January 11, signed by 70 economists and politicians. The authors urged EU lawmakers to “prioritise public interests” concerning the digital euro.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moreover, they warned that further delays would only deepen Europe’s reliance on dominant foreign and private payment systems.<\/p>\n

ECB’s Preparatory Phase<\/h2>\n

The ECB is currently conducting preparatory work<\/a> on the digital euro project: developing a set of rules, technical architecture, and functionality before making a final issuance decision.<\/p>\n

According to the regulator, the design of the CBDC represents a publicly accessible, pan-European payment solution that ensures seamless access to central bank money\u2014akin to cash. Tools such as holding limits and tiered remuneration will be applied to maintain financial stability.<\/p>\n

The project aims to balance innovation, privacy, and the preservation of banks’ key role as intermediaries in the retail payment system, noted<\/a> ECB executive board member Philip Lane in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, several commercial banks and politicians criticise the digital euro. They fear potential displacement of deposits, operational costs, and uncertain demand from retail users.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In March, ECB analysts concluded<\/a> that eurozone citizens show little interest in the virtual form of the European currency and see limited value in CBDC.<\/p>\n

Back in March, a failure in the ECB’s payment system raised new doubts<\/a> among lawmakers about the regulator’s ability to implement a national digital currency project.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Increasing geopolitical tensions are bolstering the case for a European digital payment system under local control, according to the ECB.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"Geopolitical tensions bolster the case for a European digital payment system, says ECB.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1753,733],"class_list":["post-93679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-digital-euro","tag-europe"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"115","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"Geopolitical tensions bolster the case for a European digital payment system, says ECB.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93679"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93681,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93679\/revisions\/93681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}