Digital Euro Steps Forward: Preparatory Phase Begins

The second stage of launching the digital euro will begin in November 2023. Following the Governing Council meeting on October 18, the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to launch the “second phase” of the operation. It should last a couple of years, that is, to complete work on “a set of rules for a digital euro and the selection of suppliers who could develop the necessary platform and infrastructure.” “In addition, tests and experiments will be conducted at this stage,” the European banking institution said in a statement. After this period, a decision will be made whether to continue the preparatory process in order to achieve the final result.

The issuer of this currency will apparently be the European Central Bank, which, like its peers around the world, is assessing the possibility of integrating cash with digital currency.

“We need to prepare our currency for the future. We envision the digital euro as a digital form of cash that is free to use for all digital payments and that meets the highest standards of privacy,” commented ECB President Christine Lagarde. “The digital euro will complement cash, which will always be available so that no one is left behind.”

The currency of the digital community will serve the purpose of making state money available for digital payments. It will be free and universally usable and will help strengthen eurozone’s monetary sovereignty and competition in the European payments sector.

“In light of citizens’ growing preference for digital payments, we must be prepared to issue a digital euro alongside cash. The digital euro will increase the efficiency of European payments and contribute to the strategic autonomy of Europe,” explained Fabio Panetta, a member of the ECB’s executive board, to the Italian news agency ANSA.