The European Parliament has voiced strong support for the European Central Bank’s (ECB) digital euro initiative, framing digital money and payments as strategic assets amid growing geopolitical tensions.
Lawmakers approved the ECB’s annual report with 443 votes in favor, 71 against and 117 abstentions. The adopted amendments describe the digital euro as “essential” to reinforcing the European Union’s monetary sovereignty, reducing fragmentation in retail payments and strengthening the integrity of the single market.
The report highlights the role of publicly issued digital money in reducing Europe’s dependence on non-EU payment providers and privately issued payment instruments.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) also stressed the importance of preserving the ECB’s independence, arguing that protecting the central bank from political influence is critical to maintaining price stability and market confidence.
During the plenary debate, Johan Van Overtveldt, a Member of the European Parliament and former Belgian finance minister, stressed that “the independence of the ECB is not a technical detail.”
He cautioned that history shows political interference in central banks “invariably leads to inflation, financial instability and even nasty political turmoil.” Reaffirming that independence, he argued, is “even more important in the current global context,” comparing monetary and financial stability to essential utilities such as water and electricity — services whose importance becomes most apparent when they fail.
Digital Euro Framed as Public Good and Geopolitical Safeguard
The adopted resolution makes clear that even as the ECB advances work on a digital euro, physical cash should continue to play a central role in the euro area economy. Both physical and digital euros would hold legal tender status.
Parliament’s endorsement comes as central bankers and economists increasingly present the digital euro as both a public good and a geopolitical hedge.
Last month, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone described the initiative as “public money in digital form,” linking it to concerns over the “weaponisation of every conceivable tool.” He argued that Europe requires a retail payments system “fully under our control,” built on European infrastructure rather than foreign-operated schemes.
Earlier in January, a group of 70 economists and policy experts urged MEPs to “let the public interest prevail” in shaping the digital euro. They warned that without a strong public alternative, private stablecoins and non-European payment giants could further entrench their influence over Europe’s digital payments landscape, increasing vulnerabilities during periods of economic stress.
