EU committee advances digital euro bill after key vote
Cointelegraph 2026-06-23 12:24:54
Context: The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) has voted in favor of a digital euro bill, advancing the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the European Union. The bill, which passed with a 43-14 vote, outlines rules for an offline and online digital euro, including privacy safeguards, holding limits, and no interest payments. This development marks a key step towards a potential 2029 launch of the digital euro.
Key Facts
- The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) approved its position on the digital euro package with a 43-14 vote, paving the way for the potential launch of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the European Union.
- The digital euro would be issued by the European Central Bank (ECB) and function both online and offline, with online payments using an account-based system and offline payments operating through local device storage.
- The proposal includes privacy-by-design features, such as zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to verify transactions without exposing personal data, ensuring that the ECB would not have access to personal identification data.
- The draft introduces holding limits to protect financial stability, with caps on how much digital euro individuals can hold, set by the European Commission based on ECB recommendations and reviewed regularly.
- The digital euro would not pay interest, and businesses would only be allowed to hold digital euros temporarily to accumulate incoming payments for up to 24 hours, with basic services such as account access and payments being free.