ECB official calls for urgency on digital euro amid global CBDC race

The European Central Bank is urging faster action on the digital euro as legislative delays risk hindering progress amid growing global competition.

The digital euro project is facing delays in the European Union, with the European Central Bank urging faster action to prevent Europe from falling behind global competitors.

Evelien Witlox, the ECB’s project manager for the digital euro, told Euronews in an interview that Europe should speed up with the development to avoid falling behind, as global competitors like the U.K. and China are also exploring central bank digital currencies.

Thus far, there is no pan-European digital payment solution as 13 of the 20 countries in the eurozone lack a national card scheme, relying instead on international players like Visa and Mastercard, the report notes. Witlox noted that the European market remains fragmented, with “the ones that come closest to covering the whole of Europe are non-European.”

To address this, the ECB launched a CBDC exploration project in October 2021. However, before the digital euro can move forward, the European Parliament and Council must finalize the legal framework—a process that has yet to be completed nearly 17 months after the European Commission’s proposal. This delay has raised concerns within the ECB, Witlox noted.

Although discussions on the digital euro have made progress, Witlox reiterated the need for urgency to keep “sufficient pace in this process so that we can ensure that the digital euro will be there when we really need it.” Although there is no set timeline for the digital euro’s launch, Witlox remains optimistic, stressing that Europe is still “at the forefront of the development [of a CBDC].”