EBAday 2023: Digital euro on unsteady ground

finextra.com:

The ECB laid out its current thinking on the digital euro in a progress report in April. Along with the report the ECB also published focus group findings which found most participants were interested in trying some of the digital wallet features presented.

In a speech presenting these findings, Fabio Panetta, member of the ECB Executive Board, said: “We will take all the necessary measures to ensure that the digital euro would act as a true public good.

But all European institutions have to play their part to achieve our common goal of making the digital euro a success.” However, in the weeks following this speech the European Parliament released a report which argued that the risks of a digital euro outweigh the benefits.

In the paper, titled ‘Digital Euro: When in doubt, abstain (but be prepared)’, the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs has called in the Economic Governance and EMU Scrutiny Unit said that the ECB should continue to explore the CBDCs, including carrying out a testing phase.