In the European Parliament's ECON Committee meeting on December 3, 2025, a vivid clash emerged between members prioritizing financial stability and those emphasizing competitiveness and innovation in the EU’s digital assets framework. The key fault line ran between representatives such as Francesco Mazzaferro from the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), advocating caution against systemic and liquidity risks, and Stéphanie Cabossioras representing Société Générale-FORGE, who championed multi-issuance stablecoins and tokenisation as critical drivers of EU competitiveness.
This meeting in the European Parliament took place amidst broader discussions on emerging digital financial instruments like stablecoins, the digital euro, and tokenised securities, focusing on preserving the EU’s financial integrity while accelerating integration and innovation.
Concrete proposals punctuated the debate, notably from Euroclear’s Stéphanie Lheureux, who pressed for harmonised EU rules establishing a 28th-regime facilitating interoperability and scalable cross-border settlement, and for the European Central Bank (ECB) to grant collateral eligibility to digital securities. Société Générale-FORGE argued for lifting caps on pilot regimes to enable industrial-scale blockchain adoption and called for EU-level supervision of systemic crypto-providers.
On the regulatory front, the ESRB expressed strong concerns about systemic risks posed by third-country multi-issuance stablecoins, synthetic stablecoin failures, and decentralized finance (DeFi) incentives attracting liquidity away from traditional banks. They called for strict separation of risks and regulatory clarifications, emphasizing financial stability over aggressive market liberalization. Contrastingly, Cabossioras argued MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation already includes effective safeguards such as EU-based reserve localization and limits to redemptions, suggesting more permissive conditions support EU global competitiveness.
Regarding monetary sovereignty, economist Éric Monnet advocated for a digital euro as essential to preserve the balance between public and private money and to underpin fast payments, warning that US dollar-denominated stablecoins present geopolitical risks. However, stakeholders differed on whether retail and wholesale digital assets, including tokenised deposits and stablecoins, should coexist or whether stablecoins create concentrated private money risks.
The debate highlighted a fundamental cleavage between tightening regulatory oversight to manage market and systemic risks versus fostering innovation and market expansion through deregulation and harmonisation. This divide reflects tensions between prioritising financial stability and consumer protection, versus promoting business competitiveness and EU market integration.
Key impacted stakeholders include EU regulatory bodies, which face pressure to craft precise yet flexible frameworks; EU producers and issuers of digital assets, who would benefit from harmonised tokenisation regimes and clearer supervision; EU consumers, who could gain faster payment options but may face risks from emerging financial instruments; and EU taxpayers concerned with maintaining financial system stability.
Looking forward, the European Parliament appears poised to continue scrutinizing digital assets closely. Chair Aurore Lalucq (S&D) announced upcoming dialogues with the ECB President, signaling ongoing institutional engagement aiming to strike a balanced approach between safeguarding monetary sovereignty and enabling the EU’s competitiveness in global digital finance.