Digital Euro Urgency: Open Letter Pushes EU to Adopt CBDC for Monetary Sovereignty Survival

Forget quiet whispers in Brussels corridors—this is a public, urgent demand. A coalition of economists, fintech leaders, and former policymakers has issued a stark warning: adopt a digital euro, or risk surrendering Europe's financial future.

The Sovereignty Stakes

The letter frames the digital euro not as a technological upgrade, but as a strategic shield. It argues that without a state-backed digital currency, the EU cedes control over its monetary plumbing to private stablecoins and foreign CBDCs. The bloc's payment infrastructure—and by extension, its policy autonomy—gets outsourced.

Cutting Out the Middleman

A digital euro bypasses traditional banking channels for instant, peer-to-peer settlements. Proponents say it slashes transaction costs, boosts financial inclusion, and hands the European Central Bank a direct lever for implementing monetary policy. Critics, of course, mutter about surveillance and disintermediating banks—the usual chorus from institutions facing a trimmed margin.

The Global Race Is On

With China's digital yuan advancing and other major economies exploring their own CBDCs, the letter paints inaction as a form of unilateral disarmament. Waiting, they claim, lets others set the rules of the next financial system. It’s a preemptive move to avoid playing catch-up in a digital currency cold war.

A final, cynical note for the finance traditionalists: perhaps the loudest alarm bells ring for those whose entire business model relies on being a costly, slow, but 'trusted' intermediary in a system desperate for neither. The digital euro doesn't just protect sovereignty; it threatens a very comfortable status quo.

Economists outline risks from foreign payment dominance

The economists said Europe’s payment system is now controlled by a small group of non-European companies. In thirteen euro-area countries, everyday retail payments rely fully on international card networks.

The letter said recent developments have shown how fast payment access can become a geopolitical tool. Without a strong digital euro, the economists warned that dependence will deepen as US-backed private digital currencies grow across Europe.

The letter said Europe WOULD lose control over the most basic part of its economy. That part is money itself. The economists said the only defense available is a robust public digital euro issued by the European Central Bank.

They said the system must create a direct LINK between citizens and the ECB. This would give people access to public money in digital form, alongside private bank money. The economists wrote that the system must work online and offline. It must protect privacy by design. It must also be available to all European residents, including people without commercial bank accounts.

The letter warned that if companies are allowed to refuse it, the project fails. If holding limits stay too low, citizens cannot use it as a serious store of value.

The economists urged the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the Council to act together and make the digital euro the backbone of a sovereign payment system built on European providers.

“The digital euro must be accessible to all Europeans, supporting financial inclusion and reducing cross-border frictions.”

Banks lobby against project as limits and deposits raise concern

Europe’s banking industry has pushed back against the digital euro project. In November, fourteen large lenders warned lawmakers that the plan could damage private efforts to compete with US payment systems. The group included Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, and ING.

Germany’s Banking Industry Committee also criticized the project. The group said the ECB plan is too complex and too expensive. It said the system offers little clear benefit for consumers.

Hans Stegeman, chief economist at Triodos Bank, signed the open letter. After the first mention, Hans is referred to by his first name only. He said many banks are worried about losing retail deposits. Those deposits are cheap and stable funding for lenders.

Under current ECB plans, individuals would be allowed to hold up to €3,000 in a digital wallet. That money would sit outside the banking system. It would not be available to banks as deposits.

Hans said this change is what concerns lenders most. He said the issue goes beyond profits and balance sheets. “We want to have a financial system that serves society and not the other way around,” he said. He added that a public electronic payments system is a key part of that goal.

The economists warned lawmakers not to bend to financial lobbying. They said a weakened digital euro would turn the project into a symbolic compromise. The letter said Europe may not get another chance to fix the problem.

The signatories include Dirk Bezemer, Peter Blom, Arnoud Boot, Kristof Bosmans, Wouter Botzen, Rutger Claassen, Jézabel Couppey-Soubeyran, Bruno De Conti, Paul De Grauwe, Anne-Laure Delatte, Panicos Demetriades, and Sandrine Dixson-Declève, among others. The letter ends with a direct question for EU policymakers. Will Europeans control their money in the digital age, or will others control it for them?

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