ECB official sees digital euro as key to protecting EU ‘sovereignty’

Piero Cipollone, an Executive Board member of the European Central Bank (ECB), believes that a digital euro could be crucial for the European Union to maintain its "sovereignty" in the payments infrastructure sector. The digital euro is currently set for a pilot test next year and could potentially be launched as early as 2029, pending legislation this year.

Cipollone stated that the bloc's critical dependence on third parties for payments makes it challenging to ensure smooth functioning. He cited energy and defense as examples of essential services where Europe has become too reliant on external entities. In an interview with Italy’s Milano Finance, Cipollone emphasized that sovereignty does not imply excluding third parties, but rather having the power to choose and relying on one's own strength for essential services like payments.

He highlighted that two-thirds of euro-area card transactions are managed by non-European companies and that the digital euro could reduce Europe's dependence on these external entities. The ECB Governing Council will decide on issuing a digital euro only after legislative negotiations in Brussels conclude, with hopes that the regulation will be adopted by the end of the year.