“This portrayal is misleading. It conceals the true nature of the project. In reality, this is not a neutral modernisation effort, but a highly political instrument that is meant to interfere deeply with citizens’ financial freedom. The digital euro solves no real problem, yet creates numerous new risks. Not without reason have the United States, under President Donald Trump, refrained from introducing a digital central bank dollar. A digital euro carries the concrete risk of gradually displacing cash. It enables state tracking of payments and, in the long run, opens up the possibility of influencing when, how and for what citizens are allowed to use their money. Only cash is, and remains, truly freedom-preserving. Despite assurances to the contrary, a digital euro would, at its core, be programmable. It is unrealistic to believe that this power would remain permanently unused by the European Commission and decision-makers in Brussels!”
Group in the European Parliament
