The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs has adopted its consolidated amended text of the proposed regulation establishing a digital euro, introducing significant changes to strengthen privacy, user protections, and parliamentary oversight. The amendments, tabled by the European People's Party (EPP) group and rapporteur Fernando Navarrete Rojas, move the digital euro closer to a cash-like privacy model by deleting provisions that would have allowed payment service providers and the European Central Bank to process transaction-level data for online payments. The text also introduces a new article explicitly prohibiting payment service providers from imposing account maintenance fees, inactivity fees, or minimum balance requirements for basic digital euro accounts, and prevents bundling of basic services with additional ones in a way that circumvents the zero-fee principle.
The committee's report, published on 26 June 2026, represents the Parliament's position ahead of negotiations with the Council and the Commission. Among the most notable changes is the introduction of parliamentary oversight on the digital euro holding limits: a new article requires the ECB, when recommending an overall ceiling on holdings, to submit its recommendation to the European Parliament and the Council for a non-objection procedure, giving co-legislators a formal role in approving this key parameter before the ECB sets final limits. The text also expands provisions on mandatory distribution and digital inclusion, requiring member states to designate public payment service providers to offer basic digital euro services to persons without a non-digital euro account, and mandates on-site, in-person assistance for onboarding. The Anti-Money Laundering Authority and the European Banking Authority are tasked with developing standards to ensure anti-money laundering requirements do not unduly hinder access to basic services.
The amendments aim to address core public concerns about privacy and cost, potentially boosting trust and adoption of the digital euro. For unbanked and vulnerable groups, the mandatory distribution and fee ban ensure the digital euro functions as a truly public good. However, the strict zero-fee rules and prohibition on bundling will limit payment service providers' ability to monetize basic digital euro services directly, potentially pressuring them to innovate on value-added services. The Commission is required to review the compensation model for payment service providers and merchants no later than five years after issuance to ensure the framework remains balanced. The report now heads to the full European Parliament for a plenary vote, after which trilogue negotiations with the Council and Commission will begin.