Economists Urge MEPs to Support a Public Digital Euro

Call for Support of a Public Digital Euro

A group of 70 economists and policy experts has urged Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to back the initiative for a digital euro that serves the public interest. They emphasized the importance of this currency for Europe’s monetary sovereignty and for ensuring access to central bank funds in an increasingly cashless economy. This open letter, published on Sunday and titled "Digital Euro: Let the Public Interest Prevail!", warns that without a robust public option, private stablecoins and foreign payment giants may gain increasing influence over digital payments in Europe.

The signatories, including former Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, José Leandro, and French economist Thomas Piketty, describe the proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC) as a public good. They advocate for a digital payment method at the Eurozone level, issued by the Eurosystem, and offered free of charge for basic services, which would complement rather than replace cash.

The letter highlights that, should the EU hesitate or dilute the project, European citizens and merchants risk becoming more dependent on private card schemes, largely non-European, and large tech payment platforms. This could undermine the resilience and autonomy of Europe’s payment system during times of crisis.

Their intervention comes as the European Central Bank (ECB) is in the preparatory phase of the digital euro project, working on a set of rules, technical architecture, and offline functionalities before making a final decision on issuance. The ECB describes the design of the digital euro as a public, pan-European payment solution that offers access similar to cash to central bank money, including offline payments, while maintaining financial stability through instruments like holding limits and tiered remuneration.