Overview

• Finance ministers met in Copenhagen with ECB President Christine Lagarde and EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis to agree a roadmap that gives governments a pre‑decision role on launch and on individual holding limits.
• Holding caps are framed as safeguards to curb deposit flight from commercial banks and reduce the risk of bank runs if the currency is introduced.
• Lagarde cast the project as a statement of European financial sovereignty, positioning it as a counterweight to U.S.-dominated payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard.
• Plans envision the digital euro coexisting with commercial bank money, using consumer and merchant wallets backed by the Eurosystem’s balance sheet.
• Spanish lawmaker Fernando Navarrete Rojas has led criticism in Parliament over privacy, fraud prevention, compliance costs and financial‑stability risks, as Council chair Paschal Donohoe signaled further Council deliberation before any final decision.