The President of the Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, considered today that the digital euro is an opportunity to put an end to the dependency on payment systems that has persisted for too long in the European Union (EU). Lagarde recalled, during a conference in Frankfurt, Germany, that Europe does not possess its own European card system and relies heavily on American companies like Visa or Mastercard.
International systems represent more than 60% of card payments, and 13 out of the 21 eurozone countries lack a national card system, Lagarde added during the conference “Money in Transition: Digitalization and Innovation in Payments,” organized by the ECB. For the bank chief, it will be possible to change this landscape with the digital euro, which would provide Europe with “a payment instrument that works across the entire Union.”
The European Parliament is expected to vote this July on the legislation for the digital euro, with approval being necessary for the ECB to move forward with the project and officially issue it. Lagarde also stressed that, given current geopolitical tensions, “ownership of financial infrastructure is an instrument of power, which is why sovereignty now matters where it previously did not.”
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In this context, the ECB President also stated that the recently announced agreement between Iran and the United States, if confirmed with an official signature in the coming days, is a cause for satisfaction. However, she remained cautious, noting that there are still many aspects left to be defined.
Lagarde highlighted, in particular, the vital importance of achieving the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, as it was precisely the closure of that passage—through which a significant volume of oil and gas circulates—that led to a phenomenal increase in raw material costs and widespread instability.
