Digital euro in the Finance Committee of the German Parliament: Insights from its public hearing
The digital euro has reached political domain. After a public hearing in the plenary of the German Bundestag (Parliament), now also the finance experts of the Bundestag deal with the topic of the digital euro. The Finance Committee of the German Bundestag recently conducted a two-hour session open to the public, where financial specialists from various political parties engaged in dialogue with a diverse group of external experts on the subject of the digital euro. External experts were e.g. from Bundesbank, the domestic banking industry, academia, and, think tanks. It was a great opportunity for our Digital Euro Association (DEA) to contribute as an expert and I had the great pleasure to represent DEA.
From the discussion, several crucial insights emerged:
- Perspective: The notion of a digital euro has not yet created excitement for most parties, with many parties still formulating their stance. It was pointed out that a deeper, more nuanced grasp, especially of the technological dimensions, is crucial for a well-rounded assessment of the digital euro.
- Privacy: The question of the benefit for the citizens was raised a couple of times. Privacy surfaced as a primary selling point for the digital euro, promising to enrich the digital transactions domain. In the hearing, I particularly stressed that the digital euro needs to provide not „promised privacy“, but „technical guaranteed“ privacy. There must not be the necessity to trust specific stakeholders for indeed providing and preserving privacy. Fortunately, there are various technological solutions to provide this.
Read the full article on my blog:
About the author
Dr. Jonas Gross is the Co-founder and Chairman of the Digital Euro Association (DEA) and serves as the Chief Operating Officer at etonec, a consultancy and prototyping company specialized in digital money and assets. Within his roles, Jonas guides companies and central banks through the complexities of digital currencies, facilitating the development of value-adding solutions.
With a Ph.D. in economics, Jonas is a global thought leader on central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain technology. Additionally, he co-hosts the German podcast “Bitcoin, Fiat, & Rock’n’ Roll,” serves as an external lecturer at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, and contributes as a member of the expert panel for the European Blockchain Observatory and Forum.
Personal website: https://www.jonasgross.info/en/
