The citizens of Europe reject the idea that the European Central Bank (ECB) issues a digital euro and they have expressed this in the more than 10,000 public comments that are visible on the official website of the European Commission.
The institution in charge of promoting laws to govern the eurozone opened one public consultation in order to know the opinion of citizens on the possible establishment and regulation of a digital currency as a new form of central bank money.
Although the consultation will remain open until June 14, the majority of the comments expressed are inclined to rule out the digital euro as a new payment system. This because they prefer more private methods, such as cash.
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“I clearly say no to the digital euro. We don’t need it, it’s just a tool to get rid of cash and another step to make people dependent on the central government and keep an eye on them,” said one person who declined to be identified.
Other residents of Europe, such as Dieter Schomer of Germany, believe that the digital euro, issued and controlled by a central institution, is a potential risk to freedom because it means greater control of citizens by the state.
No, cash money should not be abolished. Cash means freedom: a digital currency can be convenient, but it can also be controlled, and that should not happen. Unthinkable if this happens through the wrong people or governments.
Christy Márquez, inhabitant of Germany in the public consultation.
The reception of comments from Europeans was left open two months after the ECB will announce the beginning of a legislation process with the aim of creating a legal framework regulation for the implementation of a digital euro.
The project is in the process of collecting opinions from the different regulatory entities and the community. This with the idea of measuring the possible risks and benefits that the issuance of a CBDC or central bank digital currency would bring. It is believed that 2023 would be the year in which the law would be enacted to launch this digital asset, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
The ECB has indicated that among its objectives is the issuance of a digital euro so that citizens have it, along with cash. It means that does not consider abolishing banknotes and coins that are in use today.
However, in the public consultation there are many comments from people who express fear that the launch of a digital currency, by the Central Bank of Europe, will mean the end of cash.
A digital euro would hurt privacy
The data collected so far in the public consultation reveal that the inhabitants of Europe feel great attachment to cash. They show that it is an untraceable payment method, allows you to make payments anonymously and therefore offers greater protection of private data.
In fact, privacy is something that Europeans value, as has already been made clear by ECB researchers working to understand how a digital euro should be designed if it is to gain adoption.
European citizens they would positively value payment options that allow them to maintain control of their personal dataas pointed out by Fabio Panetta, member of the executive committee of the ECB and leader of the digital euro project.
However, concern about potential circumvention of regulations presents challenges to those working on the design of a central bank-issued digital assetas commented by Panetta.
For this reason, one of the options that is handled is that the digital euro allows payments in small amounts. This is because if it is about small transactions these could be done anonymously.
In any case, that privacy is highly valued by users is something that conflicts with the laws that are being studied in the European Union, now when legislators are about to approve stricter controls.