ECB Official: Digital Euro Needed to Reduce Reliance on Non-European Payment Systems

ECB official frames digital euro as sovereignty tool

Piero Cipollone, a member of the European Central Bank's Executive Board, stated that a digital euro is essential for the European Union to maintain sovereignty over its payments infrastructure. He argued that Europe currently relies too heavily on non-European third parties for essential services, a dependency that compromises the smooth functioning of its financial systems.

Cipollone emphasized that just as Europe has learned it cannot rely solely on external providers for energy and defense, it must apply the same logic to payments. He noted that having control does not mean excluding third parties, but rather ensuring Europe has the power to choose and rely on its own infrastructure.

Timeline for pilot and rollout

• The ECB plans to test the digital euro using real transactions in 2027.
• This pilot will involve staff from the ECB and national central banks, alongside 36 market operators, including seven from Italy.
• A formal rollout could happen as early as 2029, pending the adoption of legislation by the end of 2026.
• The ECB's Governing Council can only decide to issue the digital euro after legislative negotiations in Brussels are completed.

Addressing strategic vulnerability

In a public lecture in Latvia in April 2026, Cipollone highlighted that two-thirds of card transactions in the euro area are governed by non-European companies. He described this reliance as a strategic vulnerability. The digital euro aims to reduce this dependence by providing payment infrastructure controlled by Europe.

Source

• Cointelegraph