The European Parliament has endorsed the European Central Bank’s digital euro project, framing it as a strategic tool to strengthen the European Union’s monetary sovereignty amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Lawmakers adopted the annual ECB report by 443 votes to 71 with 117 abstentions, backing amendments that describe the digital euro as essential to reducing fragmentation in retail payments and reinforcing the integrity of the single market.
“The independence of the ECB is not a technical detail,”
Said European Parliament member and former Belgian finance, minister Johan Van Overtveldt.
He warned that political interference with central banks “invariably leads to inflation, financial instability and even nasty political turmoil,” adding that reaffirming autonomy is even more important in the current global context.
The resolution stresses that cash must continue to play an important role in the euro area economy and confirms that both physical and digital euros would have legal tender status if introduced.
ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone recently described the initiative as “public money in digital form” and linked it to concerns about the “weaponisation of every conceivable tool,” arguing that Europe needs a retail payment system fully under its control and built on European infrastructure.
The digital euro remains subject to approval by EU co-legislators, with the ECB currently in a technical readiness phase that could see a pilot begin in 2027 and a potential first issuance around 2029 if legislation is adopted in 2026.