The European Central Bank has published the first progress report on the preparation phase for the digital euro. The report summarizes the progress made on the digital euro project since the preparation phase started on 1 November 2023.
The Eurosystem's digital euro project aims to ensure that central bank money evolves alongside current payment preferences and trends, facilitating electronic payments across the euro area and strengthening Europe's strategic autonomy. A digital euro, complementary to cash, would be secure and widely accepted, thereby strengthening Europe's monetary sovereignty and reducing dependence on large non-European private payment providers. After the completion of the digital euro investigation phase that began in 2021, on 18 October, the ECB's Governing Council launched a two-year preparation phase, which will last until 31 October 2025, during which technical work and the EU legislative process will proceed in parallel. By the end of 2025, the Governing Council will decide whether to proceed further with the digital euro, with the final decision on issuance to be made after the legislative process has been completed.
