The digital euro reaches a key milestone: what the ECON committee vote changes

What happened

On 23 June 2026, the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) adopted, by 43 votes to 14 with one abstention, the report on the proposal for a regulation establishing a digital euro. This vote does not establish the digital euro: it sets out Parliament's position for the final negotiations (the "trilogue") with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission.

The text, sponsored by Spanish rapporteur Fernando Navarrete (European People's Party), still needs to be confirmed in plenary session in Strasbourg in early July 2026, before the trilogue negotiations begin. A final agreement is expected by the end of 2026.

The content of the adopted framework

Dual format. The project includes an online version and an offline version. The offline version would allow direct phone-to-phone transfers, with a level of confidentiality described as comparable to that of cash.

Confidentiality. The text enshrines the principles of "confidentiality by design" and the use of zero-knowledge evidence. (proofs ) to validate transactions without exposing the user's identity. The ECB would not have access to identification data.

Free of charge. Basic services — account opening, holding, everyday payments — would be free for individuals; merchants would be required to accept the digital euro without additional fees.

Holding limit. The ECB would set a holding limit per user, within a framework of parameters agreed upon by Parliament and the Council. The ECB has indicated that its own analyses do not detect a risk to financial stability up to a threshold of around €3,000 per person; this limit remains one of the most contentious points in the upcoming negotiations.

No remuneration. The digital euro would not be remunerated, unlike a savings account or a life insurance contract: it would be a means of payment complementary to cash, not a savings or investment product.

The geopolitical context invoked

The project's proponents -the ECB, the ECON committee chair (Aurore Lalucq), and several political groups- justify the digital euro on the grounds of payment sovereignty. According to figures cited by the ECB, the American operators Visa and Mastercard process approximately 61% of card payments in the eurozone and almost all cross-border card transactions. MEP Markus Ferber described this dependence as a "geopolitical necessity" that must be addressed.

The project is also presented as a mirror to extra-European initiatives: China has already deployed its digital yuan, Russia has announced the launch of its digital ruble for September 2026, while the United States has abandoned the option of a federal central bank digital currency, with the Trump administration favouring the development of private stablecoins.

Points of friction -the debate remains open

The committee's adoption does not close the debate; it formalizes its terms for the trilogue. Three lines of tension will structure the discussions to come.

The cost to the banking sector: estimates vary widely.

The published figures vary by a factor of more than three, making any conclusion premature. The European Banking Federation (EBF), citing a PwC study, puts the total cost at €18 billion for the entire sector. The ECB disputes this figure and uses a range of €4 billion to €5.8 billion for the deployment phase, reduced to approximately €1 billion to €1.44 billion per year if spread over four years.

The risk of bank disintermediation

Commercial banks fear that some of their deposits could flow into central bank money, reducing their funding resources and ultimately their lending capacity. The ECB responds that the design of the mechanism—particularly the holding ceiling—is specifically aimed at preventing this scenario, even during periods of market stress. ECB advisor Alessandro Giovannini stated that the chosen design would prevent massive deposit withdrawals, even in crisis situations deemed extreme and unlikely.

Competition with European private payment solutions

The digital euro would directly compete with Wero, the pan-European payment system backed by the EPI consortium and several banks, which claimed over 43 million users by the end of 2025. The future digital euro would benefit from a regulatory acceptance requirement that Wero lacks, forcing banks to finance two infrastructures with similar uses. The French Banking Federation has called for the reuse of existing infrastructures and standards as much as possible to limit duplication

What this means in concrete terms -and what it doesn't mean yet

For individuals: the digital euro, if implemented, would be an addition to existing payment methods, not a replacement. Cash would retain its legal tender status. It is not an investment product: without any return, its direct financial benefit is, by design, nil.

For savers and investors: no decision is final. The announced timetable (pilot 2027, issuance 2029) remains conditional on the outcome of the trilogue, the most sensitive parameter of which -the holding ceiling -has not yet been finalized.

For the banking sector: uncertainty about the cost of implementation (ratio of 1 to 3 depending on the source) and about the extent of a possible transfer of deposits is a factor to monitor, particularly for institutions most dependent on retail deposits as a source of funding.

For payment players: Visa, Mastercard and existing European payment solutions (Wero in particular) are directly affected by the upcoming regulatory arbitrations on the obligation to accept and the allocation of fees.