European Parliament supports digital euro - Compatible with Council for online and offline use
The European Parliament has given its first major endorsement to the digital euro, aligning with the European Council's negotiating position for a central bank digital currency with both online and offline functionality.
The approval matters because the European Central Bank needs legislative approval from Parliament before it can issue a digital euro, meaning its aim for a 2029 launch depends on lawmakers' approval.
The assembly's stance marks a shift from previous parliamentary proposals focused solely on offline payments and signals closer alignment with the ECB in protecting the bloc's monetary sovereignty.
The ECB is developing a digital euro to preserve the role of central bank money in an increasingly digital economy and reduce dependence on non-European payment providers.
Declining transatlantic relations and rising geopolitical risks have fueled concerns about the fragmentation of EU payment services and the bloc's dependence on US providers such as Visa or Mastercard, with some countries lacking a domestic payments network at all.
However, the project encountered resistance from banking lobbies in countries such as Germany and progress in parliament stalled, with the draft remaining blocked for more than two years - much longer than the ECB had expected.
MEPs adopted two amendments to the parliament's resolution on the ECB's annual report for 2025, calling for a digital euro that ensures equal access to payment services and offers a new form of public money usable both online and offline.
Lawmakers also underlined that a digital euro is essential to strengthen the EU's monetary sovereignty and deepen the single market, reducing fragmentation in retail payments.
Parliament also urged the ECB to increase monitoring of crypto-assets, warning that the shift to digital payments, if left to private and non-EU providers, risks creating new forms of exclusion for users and merchants.
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