EU civil groups warn digital euro will fail without privacy safeguards

A coalition of European civil‑society organisations, including Croatia’s Politiscope, has sent an open letter to EU legislators urging the European Central Bank to embed strong privacy protections in the design of the proposed digital euro. The signatories argue that without safeguards such as end‑to‑end encryption and zero‑knowledge proof, the digital currency could become a tool for monitoring and profiling citizens, undermining public trust and jeopardising the billions of euros earmarked for the project.

They call for transparent source‑code publication, mandatory involvement of the European Data Protection Supervisor and a legal right to retain cash payments. The groups stress that a privacy‑by‑design approach is essential for the digital euro to be accepted and to reduce Europe’s reliance on foreign payment networks.