Merchants are not just participants in the digital euro project – they are its driving force, said Executive Board member Burkhard Balz during an event in Brussels. Representatives from politics, business and trade discussed the opportunities and challenges presented by a digital euro during the conference entitled The digital €uro: a game changer for European merchants.

Notes on methodology and links

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €17.1 billion in January 2026, slightly down on the previous month’s level. Although the surplus in the goods account increased, the surplus in invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income, declined slightly more sharply. 

One of the Bundesbank's tasks is to collect monetary, financial and external sector statistical data, comprehensive sets of indicators and seasonally adjusted business statistics. For macroeconomic analysis relevant data are then fed into the macroeconomic time series published in the time series databases.

At this year’s European Banking Congress in Frankfurt am Main, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel issued an emphatic plea for reforms for Europe’s future. Against the backdrop of mounting geopolitical tensions, a challenging global trade environment and demographic change, Mr Nagel urged for a clear European strategy to safeguard productivity and welfare over the long term.