BRUSSELS, 15 July 2021 – ESBG welcomes the decision of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) to launch the investigation phase of the digital euro project as announced by the Eurosystem. The investigation phase will last 24 months and will aim at addressing key issues concerning design and distribution.

“ESBG and its members welcome the Eurosystem’s announcement and look forward to the coming interaction with the ECB”, said Sofia Lindh Possne, Chair of the ESBG Task Force on Central Bank Digital Currencies and Swedbank’s Senior Advisor Group Regulatory Affairs.

ESBG supports the ECB’s aim to ensure that in the digital age citizens and firms continue to have access to the safest form of money, central bank money. ESBG and its Members also support the efforts towards an environmentally friendly design of the core infrastructure of a future digital euro.

ESBG especially welcomes the involvement of different stakeholders via the creation of the Market Advisory Group. ESBG stands ready to engage with the Eurosystem and the other European Institutions during this investigation phase. In anticipation thereof, ESBG already drafted and issued a high-level position paper on the key challenges that the digital euro will face. The paper, published here, also suggests four possible use cases that could especially benefit from the issuance of a digital euro.

ESBG hopes this is a good starting base for a fruitful dialogue in the months to come and is looking forward to a further engagement on this important file with the ECB.

Notes to the editor

ESBG’s high-level position paper on a digital euro is available for download below in full and in summary format. It analyses five challenges for the issuance of a digital euro and presents four possible use cases that could especially benefit from the issuance of a digital euro.

Download

FULL PAPER ON A DIGITAL EUROSUMMARY OF THE PAPER ON A DIGITAL EURO

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