EU lawmakers question ECB’s latest play about digital euro

The European Central Bank just pulled out the trump card again, trying to sell the idea of a digital euro.

But the European Parliament? They’re giving it the ol’ skeptical eyebrow raise. Like a mobster sizing up a new rival, curious, cautious, a little suspicious.

Digital currency as safety net for Europeans

Piero Cipollone, one of the ECB’s top dons, told the parliamentary committee straight up that this digital euro ain’t just some shiny gadget.

It’s a backup plan, a safety net. If chaos hits, cyberattacks, network blackouts, the whole nine yards, this digital currency will keep Euro payments flowing like the good ol’ days.

Like cash, the digital euro will allow everyone to pay throughout the euro area at all times and safeguard inclusion for all Europeans.

Read Executive Board member Piero Cipollone’s full speech at the @Europarl_EN

— European Central Bank (@ecb) September 4, 2025

He says it’s to make sure every European, from the baker in Rome to the tech wizard in Berlin, can still fork over Euros no matter what.

Sounds good, right? But some lawmakers aren’t buying it as clean as Cipollone pitches.

They worry about privacy, whether users’ spending habits would be open to the ECB’s watchful eyes.

Cipollone’s quick to say, relax, we won’t know who’s paying who. Offline payments will be just like cash, totally private. Sounds sweet, but you know politicians.

Private bank accounts emptied

Then, there’s the heavy stuff. This digital euro might lure ordinary people away from commercial banks.

Why keep your dough in those private banks when the ECB offers a safer spot? Pierre Pimpie, a sharp-tongued Eurosceptic, warns the digital euro could suck the life from private bank accounts, emptied, he says.

Oh, and get this, the ECB plans to put caps on how much digital cash you can stash, and if a crisis hits, they might turn this dial way up. Sounds like a control freak’s dream.

But Cipollone doesn’t flinch. He says the bank’s caps won’t be random, based on rigorous analysis.

And, if the crisis really gets real, rich people will probably flee to stablecoins tied to other currencies.

He even joked, the digital euro would be the least of our problems. Which is probably true btw. That’s the harsh reality of crypto wars for you.

Universally accepted payment tool

Now, about the timetable, the ECB wants to have digital euro laws signed by mid-2026. Then, three powerful bodies, the European Parliament, European Commission, and European Council, have to agree.

That process? Could drag on like a five-hour sit-down. After that, the ECB needs up to three years to build and test the digital euro infrastructure. So, if the stars align, we might see this thing roll out by 2029.

So, right now, the digital euro is pitched as a resilient, universally accepted payment tool.

A modern hero for Europe’s financial future. But in the reality? It’s got skeptics, privacy warriors, and bank watchdogs throwing down challenges.

Will the digital euro rise to become the knight in shining armor, or just another pawn in the chessboard of power? The million euro question.