The director of the European Central Bank, Isabel Schnabel, sees a lot of preparatory work on the way to a possible digital euro. “But that is a topic that the ECB has to deal with in the digital age,” she said in a previously published interview with Deutschlandfunk on Sunday. “There is still a lot of preliminary work to be done.” A decision has not yet been made.
“A digital euro would ultimately give the citizens access to secure digital central bank money. So, you can imagine it like banknotes in digital form,” said the ECB director. It is not about replacing cash, which is still very popular in the euro area.
Schnabel was reluctant to develop the economy in the euro zone. For the fourth quarter of last year there are signs of negative growth. “And in view of the worsening health situation in many countries, a very weak first quarter can also be expected,” she forecast. “Of course, the decisive factor will be how quickly the vaccinations proceed.” For the whole year she is assuming growth of just under four percent.
In order to cushion the economic consequences of the corona pandemic, it is now a matter of the EU’s aid program being implemented quickly, said Schnabel. The Corona reconstruction fund, which the EU countries agreed on last year, provides for a volume of 750 billion euros. The EU countries can apply for grants or loans. “Of course you have to hurry up a bit so that these European funds are really soon available and can be used.”
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