Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 28, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 28, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe EU seeks a digital euro to reduce dependence on US firms, enhancing economic autonomy. The ECB's efforts face political and sector resistance.
By Jan Strupczewski
BRUSSELS, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The European Union needs to quickly create a digital euro to cut the bloc's dependence on dominant U.S. payment companies, Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Wednesday.
The European Central Bank has been working to introduce a digital euro since 2020 to modernise its payment system and ensure central bank money remains relevant in an increasingly digital world.
Progress has been slow, partly because of a lack of political urgency in Europe and some resistance from the banking sector.
But the willingness of the U.S. administration of Donald Trump to use economic pressure on Europe to achieve its goals, like in the case of Greenland, has helped focus minds.
"Today, our payments landscape is highly dominated by non-European providers. This makes us dependent on foreign-owned companies in an increasingly polarised and fragmented world," Dombrovskis said at the European Banking Summit.
Almost two-thirds of all card transactions in the EU are now handled by U.S. giants Visa and Mastercard. Dombrovskis said such dominance made the EU vulnerable.
"Ceding such a degree of technological control over the EU's economy to others could impede our ability to act autonomously. It poses real threats to our resilience and economic security," he said.
A digital euro, to be used for online purchases as well as payments in shops, would solve that and work on it should be accelerated, he added.
"Europe needs a digital euro for the digital age. This digital euro should be seen in the broader context of improving Europe’s strategic autonomy," Dombrovskis said.
The EU's 27 governments agreed in December that they want a digital euro that would be usable anytime, anywhere, whether users are connected to the internet or offline.
Once they finish negotiating with the European Parliament, the ECB can issue the digital euro, which it has said could be operational by 2029.
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
A digital euro is a proposed digital currency issued by the European Central Bank, aimed at modernizing the payment system and ensuring the relevance of central bank money in a digital economy.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank for the euro and is responsible for monetary policy within the Eurozone, aiming to maintain price stability and oversee the euro currency.
Card transactions refer to payments made using debit or credit cards, which are processed through payment networks and often involve fees charged by card issuers and payment processors.
Economic independence refers to a country's ability to make its own economic decisions without relying on external powers, ensuring control over its financial systems and policies.
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