MEPs have voted to begin negotiations with EU member states on plans for a digital euro issued by the European Central Bank.
The European Parliament backed opening talks with the Council by 416 votes to 169, with 22 abstentions, its press service announced on Thursday.
The move followed a challenge by the ECR and PfE political groups to a decision taken on 23 June by the Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee to start interinstitutional negotiations.
Fernando Navarrete Rojas (EPP, Spain) will lead the Parliament’s negotiating team.
A first round of talks with the Irish Presidency of the Council is expected to take place shortly.
The proposals form part of a “single currency package”, with negotiations also able to begin on separate rules covering the legal tender status of euro banknotes and coins.
What the digital euro plan includes
The digital euro would be a new electronic form of money issued by the ECB and designed to work both online and offline, according to the Parliament.
Privacy safeguards would be built in, with transactions verified without exposing personal data and any processing limited to what is strictly necessary for the system to function.
Most businesses would have to accept payments in digital euro, with exceptions for self-employed people and small and micro enterprises that do not accept other digital payments.
Basic services — including opening an account, holding and managing funds, and access to at least one payment instrument — would be free of charge.
There would also be a cap on how many digital euros an individual could hold, the Parliament said, and banks and payment service providers from EU countries that do not use the euro would be allowed to distribute the digital euro.
Separately, euro area countries would be required to keep cash accessible, businesses would not be allowed to ban cash, and member states would have to monitor cash availability regularly, with particular attention to groups such as older people, low-income individuals and those without access to traditional banking services.
