Pasquale Tridico pushes EU digital euro to reshape monetary sovereignty

The European Parliament voted in favour of amendments to the European Central Bank’s annual report, clearing a key political hurdle for the digital euro. Economist and MEP Pasquale Tridico (The Left) argues that the project goes beyond faster payments, aiming to strengthen Europe’s monetary sovereignty by issuing a public electronic currency directly from the ECB.

A digital euro would be a legal‑tender electronic token, usable alongside cash, and could bypass commercial banks, reducing their liquidity buffers and giving the ECB a direct tool to transmit monetary policy. The proposal also seeks to lessen Europe’s reliance on private payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard and PayPal, which currently process most electronic transactions. While the ECB assures cash will remain, privacy and traceability concerns persist as the debate continues.

The vote does not launch the digital euro, but it legitimises the initiative and marks the first major step in a longer implementation process.