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The European parliament’s lead lawmaker assessing the digital euro has changed position and now fully backs the project, boosting its chances of approval in a crunch vote expected before August.
The European Central Bank and European Commission have been promoting the launch of an electronic version of the single currency by 2029 to reduce reliance on foreign digital payment providers such as Apple Pay, Mastercard and Visa, and strengthen Europe’s monetary sovereignty.
EU leaders this month sought to inject urgency into the project when they called for an agreement by the end of this year on the legislation underpinning the initiative.
But Fernando Navarrete, the lead MEP responsible for shaping the parliament’s position on the subject, had long argued that lawmakers should back only a scaled-down version of the project.
He had proposed that digital euros should only be used instead of cash for payments when there is no internet or mobile connection, but not immediately for real-time payments online and in stores as it could stifle initiatives by European banks.
Banks including BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank launched a European alternative to Apple Pay called Wero in 2024.
However, following a meeting of MEPs on Wednesday, Navarrete is working on a new draft report that removes his proposal that an online version of the digital euro should only be launched if European private sector alternatives fail. The draft report is due to be circulated in the coming days, according to people familiar with the situation.
The shift comes after a majority of MEPs on the centre-left — composed of social democrats, Greens, liberals and the Left — voted against Navarrete’s proposal at the meeting on Wednesday. They instead backed the Commission’s position, which does not distinguish between the online and offline versions of a digital euro.
“I welcome the constructive spirit now emerging across political groups to find a consensus and move . . . forward,” said Navarrete in a comment to the FT, adding that the digital euro had to be built on standards that would allow it to exist alongside private sector solutions.
“The digital euro will only become a genuinely useful instrument for citizens and for the European economy if it is built in close co-operation with the private sector. Only then can it deliver real added value,” he added.
Navarrete’s shift in position increases the chances of a majority of parliamentarians backing the project during a vote scheduled before the summer recess, although it is still opposed by conservative and far-right parties.
If it does pass, the parliament would still have to negotiate the rules underpinning the project with EU member states before it can be signed into law.
The ECB intends to start a pilot project in 2027 ahead of full issuance in 2029.
Piero Cipollone, the member of the ECB’s executive board in charge of the digital euro, told parliamentarians this week: “Today people do not have the freedom to use their money for about one-third of the transactions. If you want to use cash to pay for your expenses online, good luck, you cannot . . . the digital euro will bring back this freedom to the people.”
The European Central Bank declined to comment.
