"We support the digital euro and we must act quickly," stated National Economy and Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, in his remarks at the ECOFIN meeting in Brussels on Tuesday. He noted that five significant opportunities are emerging - among them, strengthening the EU’s monetary sovereignty and advancing saving and investments union.

The full statement of the minister is as follows:
“ I thank the Danish Presidency for placing this important issue on the agenda. We support the creation of the digital euro. It is a matter we have backed from the beginning, as - especially in today’s geopolitical environment - it is necessary to further strengthen our monetary sovereignty.
In this light, we see one threat and five opportunities ahead of us regarding the digital euro. Because, at the end of the day, this is not just a technological discussion - it is a strategic one.
The threat, to put it bluntly, is not acting fast enough. We must not lose time, because the digitisation of payments and the monetary system will happen, and it must happen quickly. For this reason, we fully support setting a specific goal of reaching an agreement by the end of the year. We believe that technical-level discussions can be completed by then.
The five opportunities, in my view, are clear:
Further digitisation of payments. I agree with many colleagues who spoke earlier that digital payments should complement, not fully replace, cash. At the same time, the benefits of digitising payments are evident in many countries - and certainly in mine. If you compare the tax evasion situation in Greece 10 years ago to today, it is thanks to digital payments that we managed to achieve a primary surplus of 4.8% and to close two-thirds of the VAT gap. We must further strengthen digital payments.
Strengthening our monetary sovereignty. Today, we mainly use non-European payment systems within our own market. We must develop our own national systems. Some countries have already done so - Greece has the IRIS system. There is interoperability between us, but the digital euro also has a monetary dimension, beyond just payments, which is very critical, and we must invest in it.
Financial integration. We need to offer a zero-cost alternative to foreign payment systems - and the digital euro can be that alternative.
Privacy. This is not a threat, but an opportunity. We can ensure better terms of privacy protection. Perhaps not full anonymity like cash, but certainly better protection than current non-European systems.
Incentive for innovation and efficiency. The digital euro will serve as a signal in favour of innovation in payments, contributing to the broader digital and technological transformation.
In conclusion, as I emphasised at the beginning, this is not a technological, but a strategic discussion. And that is precisely why we must move forward with great speed.”