European Commission to Launch Digital Euro Consultations in March, Propose Bill Early Next Year – Finance Bitcoin News

Public consultations are being opened by the EU executive branch on the digital currency project. New legislation will be prepared by the European Commission to provide the legal foundation for the digital edition of the European fiat. The draft will be available in 2023.

EU Finance Chief Announces Digital Euro Legislative Plans

Politico has reported that the European Commission will present a bill designed to provide legal support for a digital Euro currency. The legislation will be used to support the European Central Bank’s (ECB), which is currently in the investigation phase of the project.

Brussels’ executive agency aims to present the law draft early next year, but it also wants to open a public discussion. In 2020, the ECB did this when it discovered that Europeans are deeply concerned about financial privacy. The EC plans to concentrate on pragmatic issues such as how the currency will be used for everyday payment.

Following Politico’s report, EU Commissioner for financial services Mairead McGuinness announced the legislative plan at a fintech conference:

The goal is for legislation to be introduced in the early part of 2023. In the next few weeks, we will be holding a targeted legislative consult.

Before it can become law, the European Commission will need to coordinate with governments and legislatures in the member countries. The ECB is currently testing the digital euro. A prototype of the CBDC is expected to be ready for use by the monetary authorities before the year 2023.

A final impact assessment of the project will be done to determine if the virtual euro could destabilize financial systems. Eurozone governors will decide if it’s worth minting a virtual currency and the digital euro may be issued by 2025.

While the ECB’s Governing Council will make the final decision, leading EU members such as France and Germany have already called on the Eurosystem’s central bank to step up efforts in that direction. The eurozone could fall behind the U.S. and Russia, which are developing their digital currencies, according to policymakers in Brussels.

Are you positive that Europe will accelerate the growth of the digital currency? Comment below to share your hopes and fears.

Lubomir Tatsev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.