In a joint op-ed for the German “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” newspaper and the French “Le Figaro” newspaper, Banque de France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau and Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel share their thoughts on Franco-German friendship, European integration and current challenges such as inflation and geopolitical crises.

Two years have been spent exploring the possible design and distribution of a digital euro. Now, the Governing Council of the ECB is moving to the next phase of the project. This will lay the foundations for a potential digital euro. It will involve, amongst other things, finalising the digital euro rulebook and selecting providers that could develop a digital euro platform and infrastructure. However, a decision on whether to actually issue a digital euro will be made at a later date. 

Speaking at the Bundesbank’s Payments Symposium, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel and Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz have made the case for the Eurosystem pushing forward with its investigations into central bank digital currency. Both used their speeches as an opportunity to emphasise the benefits that a digital euro could bring. 
 

For 20 years now, euro banknotes and coins have been part of the everyday lives of people in Germany and the euro area. To mark the anniversary, the Bundesbank met both with interested members of the public and with expert audiences on various occasions in 2022. The programme culminated in an anniversary ceremony at the end of the year.