The introduction of a digital euro is still missing a convincing story in order to be accepted by the population. That’s still a lot of work, said Robert Holzmann, governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB), on Thursday at a conference in Brussels. However, a digital euro is important for European sovereignty and can promote social inclusion.
“Money is an important public good,” said Holzmann at the event organized by the National Bank of Belgium. Other countries would also work on digital currencies. If a stable and easy-to-use digital currency emerges here, it could replace the euro as a means of payment, so the fear is. “We don’t have to be the first, but we have to be prepared.”
Holzmann also hopes that a digital euro issued by the European Central Bank (ECB) could advance the project of a Europe-wide payment system as an alternative to American systems such as Visa, Mastercard and PayPal. And: After cash is becoming less and less important, it is important to offer people on the fringes of society an alternative so that they can pay digitally. The fear that a digital euro could displace cash and be used for surveillance was also addressed. The governor of the National Bank of Belgium, Pierre Wunsch, lamented a debate that was not being conducted rationally: “It’s not about control.”
Alternative to Bitcoin
If the euro is introduced in digital form, it should be understood as an addition to cash and as an alternative to private digital currencies such as Bitcoin, explained Evelien Witlox, program director for the digital euro at the ECB. The way the digital currency is now planned, privacy will be protected and you can pay free of charge, just like with cash.
In June, the EU Commission presented a legislative proposal with framework conditions for a digital euro. The member states and the European Parliament still have to approve the text. In the end, the ball is up to the ECB itself as to whether it will issue a digital version of the euro. This October, the central bank is first to decide whether the project will move on to a more concrete planning phase after a two-year investigation phase.
