European Parliament votes to open negotiations on the digital euro

The European Parliament voted on July 9 in favour of opening talks with the Council of the EU on a digital euro proposal that would offer citizens a secure way to reduce reliance on non-EU providers.

With 416 votes in favour, 169 against and 22 abstentions for the creation of a digital euro, and by a show of hands approval for non-euro payment service providers, the European Parliament agreed to proceed to the next stage of the legislative process.

The European Conservatives and Reformists and Patriots for Europe political groups had challenged the June 23 2026 decisions by the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee to open interinstitutional talks on the creation of the digital euro and the provision of digital euro services by payment services providers incorporated in member states whose currency is not the euro.

Rapporteur Fernando Navarrete Rojas of the European People’s Party group will lead the European Parliament’s negotiating team.

A first round of negotiations with the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU, representing EU member states, is scheduled to take place shortly.

Key points of the the European Parliament’s negotiating position include:

The digital euro would be a new, electronic form of money issued by the European Central Bank (ECB) and would work online and offline.

Privacy safeguards would be built into the digital euro. Transactions would be verified without exposing personal data, which would be processed only to the extent strictly necessary for the system to function.

Most businesses would be required to accept digital euro. Exceptions would apply to the self-employed and small and micro enterprises that do not accept other digital payments.

Basic services, such as opening an account, holding and managing funds, and access to at least one payment instrument, would be free of charge.

To protect the financial system, there would be a cap on how many digital euros any individual could hold.

Banks and payment service providers (PSPs) from non-euro EU countries would be allowed to distribute the digital euro.

Euro area countries would be obliged to keep cash accessible, businesses would not be allowed to ban cash and member states would need to monitor cash availability regularly, with special attention to vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, low-income individuals, and people without access to the traditional banking system.

(Illustration: European Commission)