The Spanish Presidency of the EU Council has informed the Member States of the progress made on the ‘single currency’ package, a set of two proposals from the European Commission: one to provide a legal framework for a potential digital euro (see EUROPE 13211/11), the other to anchor the accessibility and mandatory acceptance of the euro in its physical form (EUROPE 13211/12).
On behalf of the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council, the Minister for the Economy, Nadia Calviño, stressed that the Presidency had considered the two proposals as a package and had proceeded on the basis of two basic principles: the coherence of the two proposals and the fact that any decision taken on the digital euro must have the broad support of public opinion.
Work on the proposal concerning the digital euro
Ms Calviño also stressed that work had progressed well on granting legal tender status to the digital euro, while respecting the principle of proportionality.
The minister also reported progress on the obligation for banks to distribute a potential digital euro to individuals, on the need to set limits on the holding of digital euros to guarantee financial stability and, finally, on the design of a compensation model for the distribution of digital euros.
Work on the proposal concerning the euro in its physical form
With regard to the euro cash proposal, the minister emphasised that the Presidency had been working on two fronts: firstly, to guarantee the right of citizens to pay in cash and, secondly, to guarantee the availability of cash throughout the eurozone.
On this point, the Vice-President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Luis de Guindos, stressed that the ECB was implementing its strategy for the supply of cash.
The point of view of the European Commission
The European Commissioner for an Economy that Works for People, Valdis Dombrovkis, emphasised that there was a convergence of views between the EU and the Member States on key elements of the digital euro, such as the granting of legal tender status and the need to ensure close cooperation with the private sector on the distribution of the digital euro in particular.
However, he felt that discussions would still be needed on other key elements, such as the arrangements for limiting the reserve value function of the digital euro or the compensation models for its distribution.
The considerations of the Member States
There seems to be a consensus among the participants that the use of cash should be made permanent and that the two proposals in the ‘single currency’ package should be properly coordinated between the Member States.
France stressed in particular the need for a balance between the public and private sectors to encourage the distribution of the digital euro through incentives rather than coercion, and on innovation in the area of payments. This Member State wants a viable distribution model. France envisages the digital euro as a platform managed by the Eurosystem, with an open architecture within which private distributors could operate.
The Netherlands has indicated that it is not convinced that all basic services related to the digital euro should be free of charge. They also believe that a balance needs to be struck in the ECB’s mandate between the need for flexibility for the ECB and the guarantee of democratic foundations.
For its part, Germany, echoing Mr Dombrovskis, stressed the need for a public debate to counter disinformation about the digital euro. The German Minister for Economic Affairs, Christian Lindner, called for a balance between all the parties involved, both between institutions and between the private and public sectors.
Finally, Slovenia made a brief statement in favour of compulsory acceptance of card payments to combat the grey economy. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)