European Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Wednesday called for a faster push to create a digital euro, saying the move is necessary to cut the European Union's dependence on predominantly U.S. payment companies and to bolster the bloc's economic independence.
Speaking at the European Banking Summit, Dombrovskis framed the digital currency as a response to an increasingly digital payments landscape that is currently dominated by non-European firms. "Today, our payments landscape is highly dominated by non-European providers. This makes us dependent on foreign-owned companies in an increasingly polarised and fragmented world," he said.
"Ceding such a degree of technological control over the EU’s economy to others could impede our ability to act autonomously. It poses real threats to our resilience and economic security," Dombrovskis added.
The European Central Bank has been pursuing a digital euro project since 2020 with the stated objective of modernising payments and keeping central bank money relevant as consumer behaviour shifts online. Progress on the project has been described as slow, with officials citing a lack of political urgency across member states and opposition from parts of the banking sector.
Dombrovskis said geopolitical events have sharpened the focus on the issue. He pointed to the willingness of the administration of Donald Trump to apply economic pressure on Europe in pursuit of its goals - citing the case of Greenland - as one factor that has prompted greater attention to payments sovereignty.
He also stressed how market concentration contributes to the EU's vulnerability: almost two-thirds of all card transactions in the bloc are processed by U.S. firms Visa and Mastercard, a level of dominance that Dombrovskis argued could constrain European policy choices.
The commissioner outlined the intended capabilities of a digital euro, saying it should be usable for e-commerce as well as in-store payments and should function whether users are online or offline. EU governments representing the 27 member states agreed in December that they want a digital euro capable of being used anytime and anywhere, including offline use.
Before issuance, the design and legislative framework must be finalised through negotiations with the European Parliament. Once those talks conclude, the ECB would be authorised to issue the digital euro. The ECB has indicated a digital euro could be operational by 2029, subject to the completion of these political and technical steps.
Dombrovskis urged acceleration of the work, saying the project should be seen as part of a broader push to increase Europe’s strategic autonomy. He reiterated that a digital euro would address current dependencies and strengthen the EU’s capacity to act independently in an evolving global payments environment.
Context and implications
The commissioner’s statements underline the intersection of payments infrastructure, national economic security, and digital policy. A digital euro would touch retail payments, banking operations, card networks, and fintechs, and would require coordination between EU institutions and national authorities.