Overview
- Lawmakers approved amendments signaling support for a central bank digital euro usable both online and offline, a shift from earlier calls to limit it to offline use.
- The endorsement aligns Parliament with the Council and clears a negotiating mandate with the Council of the EU and the European Commission, though reported vote tallies differ across outlets.
- ECB President Christine Lagarde told MEPs the central bank would not access personal data and that a digital euro would not replace cash, stressing a fully European payments infrastructure.
- Supporters frame the project as bolstering EU monetary sovereignty and reducing reliance on non‑EU payment providers such as Visa and Mastercard, with policymakers also eyeing the dominance of dollar‑backed stablecoins.
- Bank lobbies and some lawmakers remain wary over surveillance risks and potential disruption to banks’ business models, even as the ECB weighs moving to the next development phase.