The introduction of a Digital Euro, which is currently being examined by the ECB, has the potential for wide-ranging changes:
The role of existing commercial and private banks in the financial market system could be significantly weakened – with immense implications for the financial system.
For the economy, it offers the opportunity for new value creation, usage and payment models, for example through programmable transactions (smart contracts).
Depending on the technical design of a digital currency, there is the opportunity to strengthen data protection and privacy in a digitalized world. At the same time, if payment transactions can be traced by state or private-sector actors, there is a risk of extensive surveillance of citizens.
Politically, the Digital Euro is a central element for the EU to secure Europe’s digital sovereignty and to free it from the dependency of non-European technology companies.
In a panel discussion, Dr. Jürgen Schaaf and Prof. Dr. Peter Bofinger will take questions from the audience. As Advisor for Market Infrastructure and Payments Business at the ECB, Jürgen Schaaf is well acquainted with the current state of planning for the Digital Euro and the perspectives of the central bank. Professor Peter Bofinger is Head of the Chair for Monetary Policy and International Economics at the University of Würzburg. He is regularly commenting on the Digital Euro as a monetary expert. He has a critical view of the necessity of the Digital Euro and sheds light on its risks.

The event will take place on 27 September from 6 to 8 pm. As a participant, you will receive information material on the digital euro in advance. Register for the event on the button below. The event will be held in German. It is part of the SmP series of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. The information material can be found here.