EU Parliament Backs ECB's Digital Euro Initiative
Members of the European Parliament have given their approval to the European Central Bank's digital euro initiative, viewing it as crucial for protecting the bloc's monetary independence, while emphasizing the importance of maintaining central bank autonomy.
In a significant vote, the European Parliament has demonstrated strong backing for the European Central Bank's (ECB) digital euro initiative, positioning money and payment systems as critical strategic resources amid escalating geopolitical uncertainty across the globe.
The annual ECB report received approval from lawmakers with 443 votes supporting the measure, 71 opposing it, and 117 choosing to abstain. The adopted amendments characterize the digital euro as crucial for reinforcing the European Union's monetary independence, minimizing fragmentation across retail payment systems, and strengthening the robustness of the single market.
The approved document increasingly highlights how digitally-issued public currency can diminish Europe's dependence on payment service providers based outside the EU and privately-controlled financial instruments.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) simultaneously stressed the critical importance of preserving the ECB's independence from political interference, contending that protecting central bank autonomy serves as a fundamental pillar for sustaining price stability and ensuring market confidence remains intact.
Throughout the plenary discussion, Johan Van Overtveldt, MEP and former Belgian finance minister, emphasized that "the independence of the ECB is not a technical detail."
Van Overtveldt cautioned that historical evidence demonstrates political meddling with central banking institutions "invariably leads to inflation, financial instability and even nasty political turmoil."
He maintained that reconfirming independence is "even more important in the current global context," drawing parallels between monetary and financial stability and essential utilities such as water and electricity whose critical importance becomes apparent only when their provision is disrupted.
Digital euro as public good and geopolitical hedge
The resolution passed by parliament affirms that, while the ECB moves forward with digital euro development, physical cash must continue to play a significant role within the euro area's economic system, with both physical currency and digital euros maintaining legal tender status.
The support from parliament arrives during a wider campaign by central banking officials and economists to position the digital euro as both a public good and a strategic safeguard against geopolitical risks.
In the previous month, ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone characterized the initiative as "public money in digital form" and connected it explicitly to apprehensions regarding the "weaponisation of every conceivable tool."
Cipollone maintained that Europe requires a retail payment infrastructure "fully under our control" and constructed on European technological foundations rather than relying on foreign systems.
In early January, a coalition of 70 economists and policy experts called upon MEPs to "let the public interest prevail" regarding the digital euro, issuing warnings that absent a robust public alternative, privately-issued stablecoins and international payment corporations could acquire even more substantial control over Europe's digital payment landscape, intensifying dependencies during periods of crisis.