A Silent Green Light from EU Finance Ministers

On 19 December 2025, EU finance ministers quietly reached a political agreement on the legal framework for the digital euro. This marked a turning point in the project’s legislative journey. Moreover, this move effectively completed the Council’s part of the co-legislative process and handed the responsibility over to the European Parliament. The agreement followed the European Commission’s original legislative proposal on a digital euro from 28 June 2023. Which laid down the legal basis for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) across the EU.

How the Digital Euro Will Work: “Cash But Digital”

At its core, the digital euro is designed as a digital form of central bank money. Which can be seen as an electronic equivalent of euro banknotes and coins, issued by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks of the Eurozone. Unlike crypto‑assets, it would be fully backed by the ECB with its system and guaranteed to maintain its value, just like physical cash.

The digital euro would be:

- Accessible to people, businesses and public entities residing or established in the Eurozone, including those without a traditional bank account.
- Operating both online and offline, for payments in shops, e‑commerce, and peer‑to‑peer transfers.

Technically, users would hold digital euros in wallets provided by payment service providers, banks or potentially public channels. While the ECB would operate the underlying settlement infrastructure. The digital euro is explicitly framed as a complement to cash, not a replacement: cash would remain widely available, and there would be no obligation to hold or use digital euros.

Moreover, the digital euro would function much like cash in digital form, sitting alongside your existing bank money rather than replacing it. Today, when you withdraw 100 euros from an ATM, your bank balance drops by that amount and you receive banknotes; with a digital euro, that same conversion happens, but the money moves into a secure digital wallet instead of your physical wallet.

You could then use those digital euros for almost any everyday payment situation.

- For daily purchases: such as a morning coffee, groceries, or paying a babysitter, shops.
- Payments between friends could be made instantly from one wallet to another using a phone or smartwatch both online and offline.

Furthermore, a major benefit is effortless payments when traveling across Eurozone countries. Instead of carrying banknotes or worrying about ATM fees in another euro countries. The consumer would be able to pay with their digital euro wallet anywhere in the eurozone and no extra cost for basic use. In online shopping, the digital euro would appear as a secure, convenient payment method backed by the European Central Bank, offering the reassurance of a public institution rather than a private provider.

There would, however, be safeguards on how much digital euro any one person or company can store in a wallet. A holding limit would cap the amount that individuals and businesses can keep in their digital euro wallets. In order to prevent large‑scale outflows from commercial bank deposits and protect financial stability.

Privacy, Identity and Fears of Social Control

Critics warn that a central bank digital currency could evolve into an instrument of mass surveillance or “programmable money” that governments could steer towards or away from certain uses.

The Council text takes a notable stance. It states explicitly that the digital euro: “shall not be programmable money”. Instead, it allows “conditional payments”. These are automatic transfers that happen only when both payer and payee agree on certain conditions. This creates a line between helpful user automation and possible government control over money behaviour.
Identity is built into the system architecture. The draft regulation provides that the digital euro must work with the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI), meaning payments will be technically linked to officially recognised digital identity credentials. The ECB asserts that it would not have access to personal data in the user interface provided by payment service providers and promotes the digital euro as a payment option with “the highest privacy standards”. Yet the legal text also gives the Commission wide powers to set future rules on personal data and transaction limits, leaving room for interpretation and ongoing political oversight.

Timeline: From Law to Everyday Wallet

The timeline for the digital euro is ambitious but phased. After the Commission’s June 2023 proposal, the ECB moved from the investigation phase to the preparation phase in October 2023, and in October 2025 its Governing Council decided to advance to the next stage of technical and market readiness, anticipating that legislation would follow.

With the Council’s finance ministers completing their negotiating position on 19 December 2025, the file now lies with the European Parliament, whose lead committee aims to be ready in 2026 before entering trilogue talks with the Council and Commission. To conclude, The European Central Bank targets full implementation and operation of the digital euro by 2028-2029.

A Strategic Leap for Europe’s Monetary Sovereignty

Supporters see the digital euro as a strategic step in Europe’s economic and political evolution. The European Commission says it will support EU digital finance strategies, boost innovation and resilience, and strengthen the euro’s global role and Europe’s “open strategic autonomy”.

It offers a public, pan-European payment option that works online and offline. This reduces reliance on non-European payment giants, promotes financial inclusion, and ensures access to central bank money in a digital economy.

If legislation delivers on privacy, non-programmability, and cash coexistence, it becomes a European solution to money’s future: rules-based, rights-conscious, and rooted in democratic institutions.

This article is written by Ibrahimjan Abdimutalipjan