The European Union’s long-awaited central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital euro, is facing delays, with its launch now projected for around mid-2029.
European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said at a Bloomberg Future of Finance event in Frankfurt on Tuesday that “the middle of 2029 could be a fair assessment,” noting that the ECB has been actively discussing the initiative with EU member states.
If accurate, Cipollone’s timeline marks yet another postponement for the digital euro, which has been widely advocated to strengthen Europe’s financial sovereignty in the face of the growing U.S. stablecoin market.
Cipollone identified the European Parliament as the main obstacle to progress, as it must pass legislation for the project to move forward. “We should arrive at a general approach—an agreement among member states—by the end of the year,” he said, adding that the Parliament is expected to formalize its position on the digital euro by May 2026.
Cipollone’s comments on the digital euro’s timeline came shortly after EU ministers reached a “compromise” on the CBDC roadmap last week, including proposed holding limits for the potential currency.
“The compromise we reached is that before the ECB makes a final decision regarding issuance, there would be an opportunity for discussion in the Council of Ministers,” Irish Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe said at a news conference last Friday.
Although Cipollone expects the digital euro won’t launch before mid-2029, European authorities are continuing preparations for the CBDC, with the ECB aiming to decide by October whether to advance to the next phase.
An ECB spokesperson told Cointelegraph on Wednesday that a member of the European Parliament (MEP) is scheduled to deliver a progress report on the digital euro on Oct. 24. Following the report, lawmakers will have six weeks to propose amendments, followed by an additional five months for discussions, Cipollone noted.
