The European Central Bank is preparing a 2027 digital euro pilot, but a possible first issuance in 2029 depends on EU lawmakers passing legislation, which must come before the ECB decides whether to issue the currency.
The bank says adoption of the Regulation is necessary before it makes that decision. A possible first issuance during 2029 assumes the law is adopted in 2026, according to the ECB’s project timetable.
Euronews reported that Alessandro Giovannini, an adviser to the digital euro program manager, said at a Nov. 10 Web Summit panel in Lisbon that he did not expect Lagarde’s planned departure to alter the project. He described it as a “strategic project,” Euronews reported. ECB President Christine Lagarde announced on Oct. 29 that she plans to step down on Feb. 7, 2027.
The ECB plans to start a yearlong pilot in the latter half of 2027. Thirty-six payment service providers licensed in the euro area are expected to take part, alongside selected merchants and staff from the ECB and 19 national central banks. The trial’s beta version will not be legal tender, and the exercise is preparatory work rather than an issuance decision.
On Nov. 10, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone told the European Parliament that delayed adoption could postpone the digital euro’s introduction. He also warned that continued dependence on foreign payment providers could make it harder for European companies to compete.
The ECB’s proposed privacy design would keep offline transaction details known only to the payer and recipient. For online payments, the bank says it would receive pseudonymized data, while payment providers would handle information required by EU law, including anti-money-laundering rules.
An ECB estimate issued in 2025 put development costs through a first issuance at about €1.3 billion, with annual operating costs of about €320 million from 2029. The Eurosystem would pay those costs, though the final amount depends on the design.
Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis said on Nov. 9 that negotiations between EU governments in the Council and the European Parliament were entering their final stage. The co-legislators are targeting an agreement by the end of 2026, a deadline the European Council had also called for.
