The Digital Euro Ecosystem Pillars at EESC Public Hearing shared by DEA

On July 6, 2026, the Digital Euro Association (DEA) participated in the high-level public hearing, "The Path to the Digital Euro – Shaping Policy Choices for Successful Implementation," hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).

Crucially, the digital euro debate is expanding far beyond the strict legislative processes of the European Parliament. By examining the proposal through a broader economic and societal lens, the EESC is contributing to ensure that the interests of citizens, businesses, financial institutions, and the wider European economy are deeply integrated into the final design.

DEA Chairwoman Anne-Sophie Gógl joined the panel to offer an independent, non-profit perspective, highlighting four foundational pillars essential for a successful digital euro roll-out:

Anne-Sophie Gógl - DEA Chairwoman

The Digital Euro Ecosystem Pillars

• A Unified Matrix: The retail digital euro should be developed alongside the wholesale digital euro, regulated stablecoins, and tokenised bank deposits as part of one coherent digital money ecosystem.
• Shared Value chain: The economic model should create value across the entire chain—from citizens and merchants to banks and payment service providers.
• Privacy by Design: Privacy must be embedded by design, with strong legal and technical safeguards, including cash-like confidentiality for low-value offline payments.
• Non-Programmable Core Money: Europe should enable programmable payments while ensuring that money itself remains non-programmable, preserving citizens' freedom to use public money for any lawful purpose.

This pivotal hearing concluded with a collective hope that negotiations for the Digital Euro Regulations can be finalized by the end of this year, providing much-needed clarity for all ecosystem stakeholders.

The DEA extends its sincere thanks to Juraj Sipko and the EESC Study Group for organizing such a constructive, engaging, and forward-looking discussion.

The Video recording of the event will be available here