Digital euro faces final EU vote as ECB eyes 2027 launch

The digital euro is entering its decisive legislative phase, with EU lawmakers aiming to finalize the bill by year-end.

EU lawmakers have begun final negotiations on the digital euro legislation, a central bank digital currency that ECB board member Piero Cipollone said could be issued as soon as 2027 if the text is approved by the end of 2026.

"The digital euro will reduce Europe's excessive dependence on non-European providers. It will ensure that Europeans can pay with their money — the sovereign money issued by their central bank — in the digital economy," Cipollone said in a July 13 interview.

The ECB estimates the project will cost about 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to build, with annual operating costs of 320 million euros ($370 million). Commercial banks face an additional 4 billion to 6 billion euros ($4.6 billion to $6.9 billion) in implementation costs over four years, according to ECB estimates. Users would be limited to small holdings in their digital wallets, and no interest would accrue on balances — design choices the ECB says will minimize risks of deposit outflows from the banking system.

If the Governing Council approves issuance in 2027, Europeans are unlikely to see the digital euro in everyday use before 2029. The timeline puts Europe on a collision course with the US, where President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January banning CBDCs, later formalized through 2030 in housing legislation.

Privacy vs. sovereignty

Critics argue the digital euro would give Brussels unprecedented visibility into how citizens spend their money. "They promise privacy... but it's money that's trackable by design," said José Vizner, a Spanish financial commentator. Pius Sprenger, a former Deutsche Bank managing director, called the project "the 8 most dangerous words if you care about freedom."

The concerns are not purely theoretical. During Canada's 2022 Freedom Convoy protests, authorities ordered banks and payment providers to freeze accounts linked to the blockades — a precedent that privacy advocates say illustrates the risk of programmable central bank money.

Efrat Fenigson, a tech entrepreneur and privacy advocate, warned that the digital euro could become "the infrastructure for programmable money, programmable identity and programmable behavior," adding that "freedom doesn't disappear overnight. It disappears one permission at a time."

The ECB has responded by designing offline payment functionality intended to provide "cash-like" privacy, and insists it will not see personal transaction data. The European Data Protection Supervisor and the European Data Protection Board have both said strong privacy safeguards are essential for public trust.

Global track record

More than 100 countries have explored retail CBDCs in recent years, with most either abandoning the idea or shifting to wholesale models. China began piloting its digital yuan in 2019 and has processed trillions of yuan in transactions, though most consumers still prefer Alipay and WeChat Pay. The Bahamas launched the Sand Dollar in 2020, Nigeria's eNaira struggled for adoption after its 2021 debut, and Brazil shut down its Drex CBDC platform in 2025, citing cost and privacy concerns.

As the Bank for International Settlements concluded in 2023, "a retail CBDC is a complex undertaking, and not only for the central banks."

Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, a former ECB executive board member, warned of "a high risk of financial instability, with strong repercussions for the real economy" if the digital euro triggers significant deposit outflows from commercial banks.

Consumer group BEUC has taken a more measured stance. Deputy head of communications Andrew Canning said the organization is "currently happy" with the proposal and trusts that "consumer safeguards are protected in the final negotiations between EU lawmakers."

The next milestone is the legislative text, which Cipollone said he hopes will be finalized by the end of 2026. If approved, the ECB Governing Council would then decide on issuance — a decision that will determine whether Europe becomes the first major Western economy to issue a retail CBDC at scale.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.