European Parliament backs ECB digital euro project to reinforce EU monetary sovereignty

The European Parliament has approved the European Central Bank's annual report, including language that brands the planned digital euro as essential to strengthening EU monetary sovereignty and the single market. Lawmakers stressed that both cash and the future digital euro should remain legal tender, while underlining that the ECB must stay independent from political pressure. Several MEPs and experts framed the digital euro as public digital money that could reduce reliance on non-EU payment providers and private stablecoins in Europe's retail payments.