Overview
- EU Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis urged a faster rollout, citing the bloc’s dependence on foreign providers and recent geopolitical pressure.
- Nearly two thirds of EU card transactions are processed by Visa and Mastercard, which officials say exposes Europe to strategic risk.
- EU governments agreed in December that a digital euro should work at any time and also function offline.
- ECB board member Piero Cipollone defended the project as public money in digital form and questioned limiting it to offline use given e‑commerce needs.
- Cash use has fallen to about 24% of transactions since 2019 as e‑commerce grows, while progress remains slowed by limited political urgency, banking‑sector resistance, and ongoing talks with the European Parliament.