European Parliament backs digital finance push, calls for Euro digital and tokenisation

The European Parliament adopted a non‑legislative resolution urging the EU to increase investment, innovation and technological autonomy in digital finance. The text highlights tokenisation of financial instruments, the development of euro‑denominated stablecoins and a digital euro, and calls for stricter controls to prevent illicit crypto activity. It stresses the need for a predictable regulatory environment to keep firms, capital and expertise within the EU and to reduce dependence on third‑country infrastructure.

In Italy, Nicola Branzoli of the Bank of Italy’s Digital Euro unit explained how the forthcoming digital euro will work like cash, allowing offline payments and lower transaction fees for merchants. A pilot is set to start next year with full rollout planned for 2029. Branzoli said the digital euro will give users a unique account number, enable peer‑to‑peer transfers without intermediaries, and preserve privacy while reducing reliance on foreign payment operators.