Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), announced that the digital euro will be ready by October this year. However, she emphasized the importance of advancing the legislative process that would mandate the digital euro, calling on the European Commission, the European Council, and national parliaments of member states to speed up the laws and directives necessary to make the digital euro viable.
Why the rush? Daniel Lacalle, economist and professor at a business school in Madrid, explains the main reasons why the ECB is eager to introduce its digital currency into widespread use as soon as possible:
“Losses at the European Central Bank have risen to €7.8 billion. The European monetary authority has recorded a second consecutive loss, while government bonds in Europe have declined again in the first two months of 2025. The ECB needs the digital euro to wash away its disastrous policies of the last ten years.”
The second reason, he says, is that confidence in the ECB’s policies is waning, government bonds are no longer considered reserve assets, and inflation expectations are rising. The push to impose the digital euro also comes at a time when European member states have announced major spending, borrowing, and defense investment plans. Thus, the digital euro is seen as key to enforcing the use of the euro as a currency, expanding control over citizens, and masking fiscal imbalance with a dangerous tool issued by a monetary institution that has lost most of its credibility over the past five years.
“Don’t forget that the ECB’s mandate is price stability, but inflation in the Eurozone has exceeded 22% over the past four years. At the same time, the index of European government bonds has fallen by 14% since 2022,” Lacalle wrote.
“There is another important reason for rushing the digital euro. Global central banks and investment firms are worried that European countries will seize assets of the Russian central bank, setting a dangerous precedent that could affect assets of other non-European countries. Since foreign funds fearing asset seizures might exit the European financial system, the digital euro could be a useful tool to impose the use of the currency even if demand drops,” he adds.
Lacalle further expressed concern about what such a tool could mean for the security and privacy of citizens in the future. He argues that the digital euro is “a completely unnecessary tool that could be used for mass surveillance and control of people.”
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