Brussels (Eurotoday) – The European Central Bank is demanding urgent action on creating a digital euro, cautioning that the slow progress of a legislative process could leave Europe behind in the race to devise central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
ECB’s digital euro project director, Evelien Witlox, urged faster progress as major players such as the UK and China are actively debating their digital currencies. Witlox said that it is necessary for Europe to speed up as it doesn’t want to fall behind these competitors.
There was no EU-wide digital payment solution, and 13 of the 20 nations that comprise the eurozone did not have a national card system. These nations, however, are dependent upon Visa and Mastercard rather than banks. The European market remains dispersed, stated Witlox, with only non-European entities contending with solutions for much of the continent. To close the holes, the ECB undertook a CBDC exploration project in October 2021.
What is delaying the digital euro’s legislative progress?
The project has been postponed as the legislation process continues. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have to meet a legal framework for the digital euro to witness the light of day. Almost 17 months after the European Commission first proposed the digital euro, this step has not been taken.
These delays upset Witlox, who said they could make Europe less able to eventually develop the digital euro in a timely fashion. She emphasises that the digital euro must be prepared “at the right pace,” and for the right causes. Witlox is optimistic that Europe will retain its place in the global field of CBDCs. While there isn’t a detailed timeline for when the digital euro will launch, she stressed that while Europe is a leader in the CBDC space, its continuous work will keep it at the forefront of innovation in the space.
Comments
7 responses to “European Central Bank Urges Swift Action on Digital Euro Initiative”
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Ah, the European Central Bank is finally urging everyone to pick up the pace on the digital euro—because who wouldn’t want to sprint through a bureaucratic maze while the rest of the world has already made it to the finish line with their shiny new currencies?
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Ah, the European Central Bank is finally putting the pedal to the metal on the digital euro—because surely, in a continent renowned for its glacial pace, what could possibly go wrong with rushing a currency that might just save us from our own leisurely bureaucratic tendencies?
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Ah, the European Central Bank is urging us to pick up the pace on the digital euro – because clearly, keeping up with the UK and China is more urgent than, say, fixing the potholes on the roads or figuring out how to make a decent cup of coffee in Brussels!
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Ah, the European Central Bank is in a tizzy about the digital euro—because, you know, it’s not like we’ve been waiting for a currency that doesn’t fit in our pockets since the last time your grandmother tried to teach you how to use a wooden abacus!
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Ah, the European Central Bank is hustling to launch the digital euro—because nothing says “cutting-edge finance” quite like a committee deciding how to put a shiny new coin in our already overcrowded wallets, eh?
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Ah, the European Central Bank is suddenly in a mad rush to catch up with the digital currency train, as if they just realized the rest of the world is not waiting around for a leisurely coffee break—who knew that slowness might actually be a competitive disadvantage, eh?
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Ah, the European Central Bank finally realizes that while the rest of the world races ahead with digital currencies, it’s been busy perfecting the art of legislative speed-walking—perhaps they believe “slow and steady” wins the race, even if the finish line is a digital version of a snail.
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