The European Parliament will unblock the digital euro: this is how the new European electronic currency will work

At this moment, I do not have parliamentary documentation that explicitly identifies the European Regulation proposal establishing the digital euro nor its specific file in the EU institutions, so I cannot confirm with evidence the exact stage of processing nor the milestones already passed (political agreement, closed trilogues, plenary vote, etc.). The accessible database only records, for Spain, other files of European Parliament and Council Regulation proposals of a different nature (digital travel, climate neutrality, funds, Erasmus+, fertilizers), and in all of them it only states that "the initiative is still being processed." With the criteria I must follow, this prevents me from completing the answer with external information or estimates. Still, I can explain in a structured way how the parliamentary process of a European Regulation like the digital euro generally works and what the typical steps until its final approval would be.

1. Absence of specific reference to the digital euro in the consulted documentation

In the available institutional information, there is no file identified as "Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the digital euro" nor with clearly equivalent denominations ("digital euro", "central bank digital currency", etc.). What is found are other files with very similar formal titles in form ("Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing..."), but related to completely different matters:

Among the checked examples are:
- Proposal on the "EU digital travel application (travel data)".
- Proposal to amend Regulation (EU) 2021/1119, relating to climate neutrality.
- Regulation proposals for the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund 2028‑2034.
- Proposal for a Regulation for the Erasmus+ Programme 2028‑2034.
- Proposal on the digital labeling of EU fertilizer products.

In all these cases, the Spanish timeline only reflects the "new publication (Senate)" and the generic note that "the initiative is still being processed," with no reference to the digital euro or the regulation of a central bank digital currency.

2. Consequences for responding about the status of the digital euro

Since there is no clearly identifiable file on the digital euro in the documentation I handle, and methodological rules prohibit me from filling gaps with external information or conjectures, I cannot state:

- In which committee or committees of the European Parliament the digital euro Regulation proposal is exactly.
- Whether there is already a provisional political agreement between Parliament and Council reached in trilogues.
- Whether the proposal has already been submitted (or not) to a final vote in the European Parliament Plenary.
- Whether the Council has already adopted the final position and formal approval.
- Nor the specific expected dates for signature, publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), and entry into force.

No further information is available in the consulted sources to specify these points with certainty.

3. Typical processing of a Regulation like the digital euro

Although I cannot place the digital euro file in a specific phase, it is possible to describe the standard processing scheme of a European Regulation of this type, which would likely follow these steps:

a) European Commission proposal phase
The Commission presents the Regulation proposal, which is registered and simultaneously sent to the European Parliament and the Council. At this moment, the texts are published in the legislative register (OEIL in the case of the European Parliament).

b) First reading in the European Parliament
The proposal is assigned to a competent committee (in the case of the digital euro, usually an economic/financial committee) that:

- Appoints a rapporteur and, if applicable, alternate rapporteurs.
- Opens the amendment submission period.
- Prepares and votes a committee report, including proposed modifications to the Commission's text.
- Sends that report to the Plenary, where the text and amendments are voted on.

If the Plenary approves its position in the first reading, it sends it to the Council.

c) Negotiation with the Council (trilogues)

In parallel, the Council discusses the proposal and adopts its own position (general approach or first reading position). When Parliament and Council have positions, the so-called "trilogues" (informal meetings between representatives of Parliament, Council, and Commission) are held to try to reach a provisional political agreement on a compromise text.

If there is an agreement, a consolidated text is drafted that must be formally endorsed by both institutions.

d) Formal approval and publication

Once the provisional political agreement in trilogue is closed, the typical steps are:

- Final vote in the responsible Parliament committee.
- Vote in the European Parliament Plenary on the compromise text.
- Formal approval by the Council (as a first or second reading act, as applicable).
- Signature by the Presidents of the European Parliament and the Council.
- Publication in the OJEU, from which the Regulation enters into force on the date established by the text itself.

4. How to know the real and updated status

To know exactly at what point the digital euro proposal is today (file number, reading phase, status of trilogues, etc.), it would be necessary to consult directly:

- The Legislative Observatory (OEIL) of the European Parliament, searching for the specific proposal related to the digital euro.
- The register of acts of the EU Council and the joint Parliament‑Council press releases announcing provisional agreements.

With the institutional information I have access to, it is not possible to offer an exact dating nor confirm the next concrete steps beyond the general processing scheme described.

Fernando Navarrete Rojas has been a Member of the European Parliament for the Popular Party since the 2024 European elections and is part of the European People's Party (EPP) Group, where he has established himself as one of the key economic profiles. His competencies focus on economic, fiscal, budgetary, and financial matters, being a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, the Committee on Budgets, and the Subcommittee on Tax Matters of the European Parliament. Before arriving in Brussels, he developed an extensive career in the Spanish high economic administration (Bank of Spain, ICO, Treasury General Secretariat) and in the FAES think tank. This combination of technical background and political responsibility explains why he is in charge of leading complex proposals such as the one related to the digital euro or the EU's fiscal and financial architecture.

Education and technical profile

Navarrete holds a degree in Economics from the Complutense University of Madrid, with an extraordinary end-of-degree award, and has a master's degree in Economics and Finance from the Center for Monetary and Financial Studies (CEMFI), as well as a master's degree in Security and Defense from UCM and CESEDEN, according to his profile in the European Parliament and the EPP (Europarl CV, EPP). He is a certified economist of the Bank of Spain, where he worked in the Directorate General of Regulation, which strengthens his specialization in financial regulation and supervision. This technical background has allowed him to bring to the European Parliament a vision very aligned with financial stability, fiscal discipline, and competitiveness.

Institutional career in Spain

Before becoming an MEP, Navarrete held several high-responsibility positions in the Spanish economic administration. He was a senior economist in the Directorate General of Regulation of the Bank of Spain and later director of the Department of Economics and Public Policies at the FAES Foundation, linked to the Popular Party (El Demócrata). Later, he moved to the Official Credit Institute (ICO), where he became financial and strategy director and, subsequently, general director, managing public financing and market relations.

In the governmental sphere, he served as Secretary General of the Treasury and International Financing, with competencies over public debt and financial relations with international organizations. From 2018 to 2024, he was chief of staff to the governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo Hernández de Cos, a key position in the articulation of economic and regulatory policy. This trajectory places him as a high-level technocrat profile who makes the leap to European political representation with strong credibility in markets and community organizations.

Positions and competencies in the European Parliament

Elected MEP in 2024, Navarrete joined the EPP Group as a representative of the Spanish Popular Party, with a clear fit in economic-financial areas. According to parliamentary information and the EPP itself, he is a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), the Committee on Budgets (BUDG), and the Subcommittee on Tax Matters (FISC); he is also a substitute in the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and in key delegations for relations with Brazil, Mercosur, and Turkey (Europarl profile).

Within the EPP, he acts as coordinator on tax matters and vice-coordinator on economic and monetary affairs, effectively serving as one of the group's spokespeople on taxation, budgetary discipline, and reforms of the European economic framework. He also participates in intergroups dedicated to social economy, investment, cultural heritage, and specific sectors, giving him transversal visibility in economic and sectoral debates.

Political lines and notable initiatives

His political action is articulated around several axes. In fiscal and budgetary policy, he advocates simplifying European tax rules, reducing fragmentation between national systems, and budgetary discipline that supports growth. On the budgetary front, he intervenes in monitoring member states' annual budgets and the European Semester. In taxation, he has advocated for a contained tax burden on energy and avoiding additional costs to consumers derived from new tax figures, according to specialized press of European popular orientation, including coverage by El Demócrata.

In the financial and monetary field, his role as rapporteur on the digital euro in the European Parliament is especially relevant (EPP – initiatives). From this position, he has promoted a more limited and controlled version of the project, emphasizing the risks of excessive ECB intervention in the retail payments market and defending the preservation of cash and competition among private entities. At the same time, he has proposed financial solutions such as a pan-European mortgage securitization platform to improve access to housing.

Political positioning and relevance within the PP

Ideologically, Navarrete positions himself in the economic center-right: supportive of macroeconomic stability, fiscal responsibility, and a prudent but competitiveness-friendly regulatory framework for the private sector. From Brussels and Strasbourg, he has become one of the PP's voices on economy, energy, and finance, as highlighted by analyses of influential MEPs published by El Demócrata. His combination of technical solvency and political weight explains why he is in charge of leading complex proposals in the European Parliament for the Popular Party.

Currently, digital payments in the EU are mainly regulated by the payment services package (PSD2 and the Electronic Money Directive), the SEPA infrastructure, the anti-money laundering framework, and, regarding crypto-assets used as a means of payment, by the MiCA Regulation. On this basis, the European Commission has proposed a new framework with a Payment Services Directive (PSD3) and a Payment Services Regulation (PSR), as well as two specific regulations for the digital euro and to reinforce the legal tender status of euro cash. I do not have direct access to EUR-Lex to confirm the exact processing status "as of today," but I do have the general scheme of current rules and the expected modifications. What follows summarizes the current framework and the most relevant regulatory changes expected with the digital euro for users, providers, and supervisors.

1. Current framework of digital payments in the EU

1.1. PSD2 and Electronic Money Directive

Directive (EU) 2015/2366 on payment services (PSD2) is the central axis of the retail payments market: it defines what payment services are (transfers, direct debits, card and internet payments, etc.), what types of providers can offer them (banks, payment institutions, third-party initiators and account information providers), and sets security and user protection rules. Among other key elements, it introduces strong customer authentication (SCA) for electronic payments and "open banking," requiring banks to allow secure access by authorized third parties to accounts, with user consent. The Electronic Money Directive regulates e-money issuers (cards and wallets with electronic balance accepted by third parties), requiring minimum capital, safeguarding customer funds, and the right to redeem the balance. In practice, many digital payment products combine both frameworks: the instrument is governed by the Electronic Money Directive and the operational service by PSD2.

1.2. SEPA and euro payment infrastructure

The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is structured through EU regulations and private scheme rules from the European Payments Council that define how euro transfers and direct debits must be executed. They require, among other aspects, non-discrimination by account location ("IBAN no discrimination"), use of standard formats (e.g., ISO 20022), and harmonized maximum execution times. Thanks to this, SEPA transfers and direct debits are treated, for the user, almost like national payments even if they are cross-border within the EU.

1.3. MiCA and payments with crypto-assets

The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) is not strictly a payment rule but affects when crypto-assets are used as a means of exchange. The piece closest to the payments field is "e-money tokens," designed to maintain a stable value (e.g., referenced to the euro) and functionally similar to electronic money. Their issuance and service are subject to authorization, reserve, safeguarding of funds, and redemption rights requirements, parallel to the Electronic Money Directive. When these tokens are integrated into payment services to merchants or between individuals, a practical intersection between MiCA and PSD2 arises.

1.4. Anti-money laundering framework (AML/CFT)

Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing directives and regulations apply transversally to banks, payment institutions, electronic money issuers, and certain crypto-asset service providers. They imply customer identification obligations (KYC), monitoring of payment operations, reporting of suspicious transactions, and limits on anonymity of electronic instruments (prepaid cards, wallets, etc.). This framework directly conditions the design of digital payment products and the possibilities of anonymity or pseudonymity.

2. Ongoing reforms: PSD3, PSR, and new payment package

The European Commission has launched a new payment package that will likely transform the current architecture into two main pieces: a new Payment Services Directive (PSD3) and a Payment Services Regulation (PSR). The goal is to strengthen fraud prevention, further harmonize supervision of payment and e-money entities, and move many rules currently in PSD2 to a regulation directly applicable in all Member States, reducing national divergences. Expected changes include a stricter licensing and supervision framework for fintech and e-money issuers, adjustments in strong customer authentication, and additional user responsibility and protection measures in digital payments, including instant payments.

3. Digital euro: proposed regulations and expected changes

3.1. Regulation for the digital euro

The Commission has proposed a Regulation to establish the digital euro as an additional form of central bank money, issued by the Eurosystem, coexisting with cash and bank deposits. The basic idea is that citizens and businesses can have "digital euro wallets," probably distributed through banks and other payment service providers, but with direct backing from the European Central Bank. The Regulation foresees mandatory acceptance rules similar to cash in certain cases, balance limits to avoid excessive bank disintermediation, and configuration of differentiated privacy levels, according to AML/CFT requirements.

3.2. Regulation on the legal tender status of cash

In parallel, a specific Regulation is proposed on the legal tender status of euro banknotes and coins, to ensure that the introduction of the digital euro does not undermine the role of cash. This text will reinforce citizens' right to pay in cash, set limits on unjustified refusal of acceptance, and require Member States to monitor geographical and functional accessibility to cash. The package is conceived as complementary: the digital euro expands public digital payment options, while the new regulation safeguards cash as an inclusive safety net.

3.3. Impact for users, providers, and supervisors

For users, the digital euro will mean a new type of low-cost or free digital payment, interoperable throughout the euro area and with a security level equivalent to cash, although not fully anonymous due to anti-money laundering requirements. For providers (banks, payment institutions, fintech), it will imply adapting infrastructures to offer digital euro wallets, integrating new interfaces with the Eurosystem, redesigning business models based on deposits and payments, and complying with specific technical and governance requirements. For supervisors, the PSD3/PSR package plus the digital euro regulation strengthens the prudential and conduct framework over payment intermediaries, expands technological supervision areas (cybersecurity, operational resilience), and requires close coordination with the ECB in monitoring the new central bank money instrument. No further information is available in the consulted sources on specific dates for final approval, so it is necessary to consult EUR-Lex or the EU legislative register to confirm the most recent processing status.