Currencies

Digital Euro, so the EU finds the compromise

Giorgetti: 'Crucial that the cost compensation model is lower than for traditional payment cards'

by Beda Romano

19 September 2025

Euro Currency Money Symbol Icon Sign. Business Finance Concept.

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Key points

Times
Delicate passage

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FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT. Copenhagen

In an international context marked not only by political upheavals but also by financial upheavals, the finance ministers of the eurozone took steps towards the birth of the digital euro, agreeing on how to decide on the maximum amount of money available in a citizen's wallet. That said, the legislative process is still long.

"After much work we have found a broad consensus on a balance that respects the mandate and prerogatives of each institution," Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe said here in Copenhagen. "We are sending a signal of our determination to move forward on this important project. In my view, the digital future of the euro is an essential part of the future of the currency."

The European Commission's proposed regulation dates back to 2023 (see Il Sole/24 Ore of 29 June 2023). At issue was how to decide among other things on the ceiling for each digital euro wallet (supposedly between EUR 5,000 and EUR 10,000). The agreement is that the European Central Bank will make a proposal and the Council will have six months to give its approval. The compromise reflects the need to meet the needs of both institutions.

The Times

On the one hand, the ECB wants to make sure that the digital euro is really usable, and that the wallet is large enough to respond to competition from new cryptocurrencies. On the other hand, the member states care about financial stability, as they would be called upon to intervene financially in the event of a banking crisis. The understanding between the European Central Bank and the Eurogroup will be included in the negotiating position that the Council hopes to publish by the end of the year.

The next negotiating hurdles will concern, among other things, the fees to be paid by merchants, as Italian Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti recalled in a written statement: 'It is crucial,' he said, 'that the fee compensation model is lower than for traditional payment cards. This is a strategic priority with the aim of protecting consumers and the market'.

In the meantime, the Parliament is slow in evaluating the proposal presented by the European Commission. The rapporteur of the text, the popular Spaniard Fernando Navarrete Rojas, is expected to present his proposals in October. Even in the recent past, before the summer break, the MEP expressed doubts about the initiative, saying he was concerned about the costs for the banks. That said, it is assumed that an agreement in trialogue could be reached by the end of 2026, with the launch of the digital euro in 2029.

Mild Passage

The process has been slow so far. While it is true that there is a growing urgency to provide the eurozone with its own digital currency, both to respond to the emergence of similar currencies around the world and to counter the use of cryptocurrencies, it is also true that the transition is a delicate one. In Parliament, discussions are intense. Some parties wonder, for example, why it is necessary to put a cap on digital euro wallets, since the currency is guaranteed by the ECB.

More generally, the topic of the digital euro comes as the Trump administration waters down financial regulations and promotes cryptocurrencies, hoping to help the dollar, which is the currency of choice for many of these currencies. Still on the subject of the euro, Minister Giorgetti himself raised the issue of the value of the euro whose strength against the dollar represents 'a second tariffs on our exports'.

Beda RomanoCorrispondente
- @BedaRomano
Luogo: Bruxelles
Lingue parlate: francese, tedesco, inglese
Argomenti: Affari europei
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