Piero Cipollone places the digital euro at the heart of Europe’s strategy to strengthen autonomy, security and competitiveness in a rapidly changing and geopolitically tense global environment. He stresses that this is not about protectionism, but about ensuring Europe can innovate and compete while retaining control over critical infrastructure.

The digital euro is presented as a digital form of cash that complements physical banknotes, not replaces them. It is part of the ECB’s core Treaty mandate and aims to preserve citizens’ freedom to pay with public money in a digital world. The digital euro would strengthen Europe’s autonomy by placing payment infrastructure on European rails. For banks, it would avoid disintermediation, preserve financial stability through holding limits, and offer a more attractive payment business model compared with cards, big tech wallets and stablecoins.

Cipollone emphasises a public-private partnership model: the digital euro would provide common public infrastructure, while private providers innovate and compete on services. Legislative progress is crucial. The Council of the EU has agreed its negotiating position, and the European Parliament is expected to follow. Technical preparations and pilot work are advancing.