TITLE: European Parliament Approves Negotiations on Digital Euro Proposal with Council
BODY:
On July 9, 2026, the European Parliament approved proceeding to interinstitutional negotiations with the Council on a digital euro proposal. The plenary backed the proposal with 416 votes in favour, 169 against, and 22 abstentions, following a challenge to the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee's June 23, 2026 decision to open talks. The Parliament also approved negotiations on non-euro payment service providers by a show of hands, and a third file concerning the legal tender of euro banknotes and coins proceeded without contest.
The digital euro would be a new electronic form of money issued by the European Central Bank (ECB), functioning both online and offline. Parliament's negotiating position emphasises privacy safeguards, with transactions verified without exposing personal data, processed only to the extent strictly necessary for system operation. Most businesses would be required to accept the digital euro, with exceptions for self-employed individuals and small and micro enterprises that do not accept other digital payments. Basic services—including account opening, fund management, and access to at least one payment instrument—would be provided free of charge.
To protect the financial system, individual holdings of digital euros would be subject to a cap. Banks and payment service providers from non-euro EU member states would be permitted to distribute the digital euro. Euro area countries must maintain cash accessibility, with businesses prohibited from banning cash and member states required to monitor cash availability regularly, with particular attention to vulnerable groups including the elderly, low-income individuals, and those without access to traditional banking systems.
Rapporteur Fernando Navarrete Rojas (European People's Party, Spain) will lead Parliament's negotiating team. A first round of negotiations with the Irish Presidency of the Council is scheduled to commence shortly.