ECB Official Flags Digital Euro Role in Safeguarding EU Sovereignty

The European Central Bank is positioning the upcoming digital euro pilot as more than a payments experiment: ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone says the project could help the euro area build “sovereignty” over core payments infrastructure that remains dependent on non-European third parties.

In an interview with Italy’s Milano Finance published by the ECB on Saturday, Cipollone argued that Europe has learned—through sectors like energy and defense—that essential services cannot rely indefinitely on external providers. He linked that lesson directly to payments and reiterated that ensuring smooth system operation becomes harder when critical services depend on outside actors.

Key takeaways

• Cipollone framed the digital euro pilot as a step toward European-controlled payments infrastructure and operational resilience.
• He said Europe’s dependence on third parties makes it difficult to guarantee the “smooth functioning” of payment systems.
• The pilot is planned to use real transactions carried out by ECB and national central bank staff.
• The ECB’s ability to issue a digital euro depends on legislative negotiations in Brussels concluding.

Why the ECB is talking about “sovereignty”

Cipollone’s remarks center on a concept the ECB has used in various forms: operational and strategic control over systems the bloc considers essential. While he acknowledged that sovereignty does not require shutting out third-party providers, he said it does mean having the ability to choose and depend on European capability when necessary for critical services.

He compared payments to other policy-sensitive areas where, according to his argument, Europe has concluded that external reliance can create risk. The ECB executive board member said Europe has seen this in energy and is “seeing it today with defense,” adding that payments face similar concerns.

“In recent years Europe has learned that, for some essential services, we cannot rely only on third parties,” Cipollone said. “And the same is true for payments.”

A pilot built around real transactions

The ECB’s digital euro work is now moving into a pilot phase scheduled for next year, with live operational testing rather than purely simulated activity. Cipollone said the pilot will involve real transactions executed by ECB and national central bank staff.

According to the ECB’s preparation plans mentioned in coverage of the pilot, there are 36 market operators involved in the preparation process, including seven from Italy. The ECB is also inviting e-commerce and mobile-commerce operators to take part, indicating the pilot is meant to test practical integration points for merchants and consumer-facing payment flows rather than only internal back-office processes.

For Cipollone, the central issue is that the smooth functioning of payments is one of the ECB’s responsibilities. If critical components are tied to non-European parties, he suggested it becomes harder to ensure consistent performance and oversight—especially when disruptions could affect day-to-day economic activity.

Dependence on non-European providers and strategic vulnerability

Cipollone previously warned about the strategic risk stemming from Europe’s reliance on non-European payment infrastructure. In an April public lecture held in Latvia, he said that two-thirds of euro-area card transactions are governed by non-European companies.

While the Saturday interview does not offer a new quantitative update on card market structure, it connects that earlier statement to the digital euro rationale: a European digital euro could reduce dependency and provide an infrastructure that Europe can better control.

That framing matters for investors and industry participants because it links the project to more than consumer adoption—placing it within broader questions of risk management, regulatory capacity, and the strategic importance of payment rails in a cross-border economy.

What needs to happen before issuance

Even if a pilot proceeds, the ECB’s path to a digital euro launch is conditional on the legislative process. Cipollone said the ECB Governing Council can only decide on issuing a digital euro after negotiations in Brussels conclude.

He told Milano Finance that the regulation is hoped to be adopted by the end of the year. The interview suggests that once the legislative track is finalized, the Governing Council would then be positioned to take a formal decision on issuance.

For market participants, this timeline is significant because it outlines a key gate: technical readiness during the pilot does not automatically translate into issuance. Compliance, legal authority, and the final regulatory framework remain central to whether— and how—any digital euro could move from testing to rollout.

Readers should watch the legislative negotiations in Brussels closely, since the ECB’s ability to proceed beyond the pilot depends on them. The next question is also whether the pilot’s operational results will strengthen the ECB’s argument that European-controlled rails can deliver the reliability it says is harder to guarantee when critical payments functions are dependent on third parties.