This year’s discussions focused on the digital euro, which is an electronic wallet supported by the European Central Bank. The union seeks to reduce its reliance on other countries in sensitive areas such as energy, finance, and defense. However, the European Central Bank still faces challenges in obtaining legislative approval for the project, as lawmakers and bankers have expressed concerns about its potential impact on bank liquidity, high costs, and privacy issues.
In a step towards progress, an agreement was reached during a meeting in Copenhagen between finance ministers, President Christine Lagarde, and European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis. Although the European Commission proposed digital euro legislation in June 2023, the legislative process has been delayed, and it has not yet been ratified by the European Parliament and Council. The European Central Bank hopes the legislation will be implemented by June 2024, with expectations that it will actually take between two and a half to three years.
In this context, Christine Lagarde emphasized that the digital Europe is not just a payment method but also a political statement reflecting Europe’s sovereignty and its ability to manage payments, including cross-border transactions, through European infrastructure and solutions.
