The European Union announced on Feb 9 that it will propose a digital euro bill in 2023. First reported by Politico, The European Commission said that the bill will be the legal foundation for the digital fiat currency that the European Central Bank has long been mulling over.
The investigation phase of the digital euro was first announced in July 2021, which was then revealed to last up to 24 months.
But with the official announcement of the bill, it’s clear that the region’s authorities want to move quickly with a digital currency.
The bill will see discussions and negotiations with EU capital and the parliament before it gets passed if it does so at all. The report also notes that a public consultation will be announced next month, focusing on the utility of the digital euro.
EU finance chief Mairead McGuinness also referred to the bill in the Afore Consulting fintech conference earlier this week, saying that the “goal is to table present legislation in early 2023. A targeted legislative consultation in the coming weeks.”
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, who has warned against cryptocurrencies in the past, has also spoken of the digital currency, noting its capacity to improve payment systems.
But she, along with other EU executives, believes that there isn’t much time to waste as crypto and stablecoins grow more popular.
There has been a deluge of news related to central bank digital currency (CBDC) development over the past few months. Governments are doing so both because they are aware of the benefits of the technology, as well as concerns related to stablecoins and cryptocurrencies.
India, Jamaica, South Korea, and Malaysia are only a few of the many countries that have announced CBDC plans. Conspicuously, the United States has not made an official announcement yet, though the Federal Reserve Chairman has said that CBDCs could coexist with stablecoins.
