European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has indicated that the European Commission will present a legislative proposal for a digital euro in the near future. European Union lawmakers are expected to determine the legal tender status of the new currency and determine its security features.
European Union Commission proposes legislation for eurozone digital currency
Authorities in the euro area have made good progress in exploring the rationale as well as the potential benefits and risks of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The head of the European Central Bank (ECB) noted during a conference devoted to the digital version of the common currency.
In a video message, Christine Lagarde said that the focus of their efforts is now turning to the specific design of the digital euro and its embedding in the regulatory framework. This is one area where EU lawmakers will play an important role, the top executive highlighted and revealed:
Therefore, I very much look forward to the legislative proposal for the creation of a digital euro that the European Commission will propose soon.
The executive branch in Brussels is one of the main participants in the complex legislative process of the European Union, which, together with the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, is responsible for proposing new laws. .
In his statement, published by the ECB, Lagarde pointed out that co-legislators must now determine the balance between competing public goals. She highlighted two specific aspects – privacy and the legal tender status of the digital euro.
New legislation to define security features and legal tender status for digital coins
Reminding that 43% of respondents to the digital euro public consultation rank privacy as the most important feature of the upcoming CBDC, the president of the eurozone’s monetary regulator admitted that if the coin is to be attractive, it needs to live up to people’s expectations. on that aspect.
Christine Lagarde emphasized: “We should at least provide a level of privacy that is on par with current electronic payment solutions, while excluding complete anonymity, such as that provided with cash, quote leading to anti-money laundering rules and the need to restrict the use of digital euros for investments. However, she doesn’t rule out greater privacy for low-value, low-risk, and offline payments.
Developing on another aspect she highlighted, Lagarde emphasized that it was a constitutional feature of cash that, as central bank money, was legally tender and made clear that the principle of mutual The same must apply to the digital version of the euro, allowing citizens to use it to make payments anywhere. This will include digital payments in physical stores, e-commerce and peer-to-peer payments, the head of the ECB detailed.
During her speech, Christine Lagarde also emphasized the importance of the upcoming Market in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation and listed the emergence of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether among those. major developments leading to a potentially disruptive transformation of the traditional payment model.
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