currency
EU Commission wants digital euro for consumers
In addition to euro coins and notes, the EU Commission wants to enable a digital euro for payment in the future. photo
© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
Payment with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is far from established. While the ECB is still examining, the EU Commission is coming up with its own proposal for a digital euro.
According to the will of the EU Commission, consumers should also be able to use a digital euro for payment in the future in addition to euro coins and notes. A draft law from the Brussels authority for a digital variant of the European common currency, which is available to the German Press Agency, provides that a digital euro should be available offline and online. It should be able to be used with smartphones or smartwatches, for example.
Digitization is increasingly shaping the lives of people in Europe and the European economy, writes the Commission in its legislative proposal. Europeans are increasingly using private digital means of payment for their transactions. However, central bank money in the form of banknotes and coins cannot be used for online payments. It is therefore necessary to introduce a new form of official currency with legal tender that is risk-free.
Not a substitute, only an addition
The European Central Bank has been considering introducing a digital euro for some time in response to the steep rise in so-called cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether. In mid-July 2021, the ECB decided to take the preparatory work to the next level: Since October 2021, a two-year investigation has been about technology and data protection. This October, the Governing Council of the ECB wants to decide whether a preparatory phase for the development and testing of the digital euro should be initiated. In any case, cash should not be substituted, only supplemented. It is not expected to be introduced until 2026 at the earliest.
According to the Commission, basic payment functions should be free of charge for consumers. Furthermore, the digital euro should be easy to use, even for people with disabilities or the elderly. The design can still be changed. According to current plans, the Commission is expected to present it on June 28th. The EU countries and the European Parliament then have to negotiate the new rules.
The economic policy spokesman for the Christian Democratic EPP Group in the European Parliament, Markus Ferber, said the proposal was technically clean. “But he still owes the answer to the question ‘why?’.” So far, neither the ECB nor the Commission have been able to explain plausibly what the concrete added value of the digital euro is for the citizens.