European Union

Digital euro: the Economic Affairs Committee gives the green light to the negotiating mandate

The ECB on its approved position: “It will safeguard euro cash as legal tender and, at the same time, shape the digital euro”

by Pietro Menzani

23 June 2026

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3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

With 43 votes in favour, 14 against and one abstention, the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (Econ) has adopted its position on legislation for the digital euro ahead of negotiations with the Council of the European Union.

The committee has also given the go-ahead to the mandate to be entrusted to the rapporteurs for the negotiations, which are due to begin on 13 July under the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU. Provided that no objection is raised by at least 72 MEPs – one-tenth of the total number of Members of the European Parliament – the text voted on today will form the basis for the negotiations without the need for confirmation in plenary during the session scheduled to take place in Strasbourg from 6 to 9 July.

What’s new

Among the new elements in the position adopted by the Econ Committee are the obligation to accept payments in digital euros, with exemptions for micro and small businesses, and a two-year phased-in period prior to the official launch.

The committee is calling for the digital euro to be introduced gradually over the 24 months leading up to its launch, to allow intermediaries, merchants and users to prepare for the use of the new currency, and for the European Central Bank to publicly announce the planned date for its official launch.

Econ also proposes exempting businesses with up to 50 employees and a turnover of ten million, as well as non-profit organisations, from the obligation to accept the digital euro, but only if they do not accept other payment methods such as debit cards, instant payments or other technological solutions for contactless payments at a terminal.

The European Central Bank welcomed the green light from the ECON Committee, explaining that its position on the single currency package “will safeguard euro cash as legal tender and, at the same time, shape the digital euro. We look forward to the European Parliament adopting its final position”.

Reactions

Giovanni Crosetto, MEP for Fratelli d’Italia-ECR and deputy coordinator of the ECR Group in the ECON Committee, said on the sidelines of the vote that today’s breakthrough represents “a concrete response to objective risks. “The first concerns the privatisation of payments, with two American providers currently dominating the market. The second concerns the risk of stablecoins penetrating the payments market, which would effectively lead to the dollarisation of Europe.”

The MEP concluded that ‘this vote also fully safeguards the role of cash, without restricting its use in any way. As regards transaction costs, we have agreed that they must be lower than the costs currently borne by our merchants, which is the direction we have always advocated, and we will be paying close attention to this point’, adding that this represents ‘an important step for Parliament and for Europe’.

Forza Italia is also celebrating: Marco Falcone, MEP and deputy head of delegation, has stated that the digital euro ‘will be a turning point for Europe; it will strengthen Europe, Europe’s monetary sovereignty and the independence of our continent itself’.

The PD and the M5S

Nicola Zingaretti, head of the Democratic Party’s delegation to the European Parliament, who noted that ‘the digital euro is a step towards a stronger, more autonomous Europe. We cannot rely solely on infrastructure built elsewhere for everything: we need European sovereignty in the field of payments too. A public digital currency that is secure, accessible to all and centred on the protection of privacy’.

Pasquale Tridico, the Five Star Movement’s head of delegation to the European Parliament and the sole Italian rapporteur on the regulation on the digital euro, added that ‘the adoption of the regulation on the digital euro represents a major victory for citizens and small businesses. The text provides for two methods of use – offline and online – and strengthens European monetary sovereignty. Cash is not being replaced, as some people who have not read the regulation continue to claim, but is being complemented by a public, modern tool capable of reducing dependence on foreign American payment systems such as Visa, Mastercard and PayPal’.