The President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarda said that the phase of preparation of digital euros for launch will begin in October 2025, but its deployment will depend on European lawmakers.

Christine Lagarde said that the ECB has been working on its own digital currency (CBDC) for more than five years and plans to complete the work by the specified period. However, this date may be preliminary, since the ECB is not the only participant in the project. The launch of digital euros depends on other interested parties: the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Council. Until they vote and make a decision on this issue, digital euros will only remain an experiment.

“The ECB is ready to accelerate the pace of introducing digital euro into the country’s financial system so that we can ultimately“ lull ”this project, but to bring it to life. The deadline for us is October 2025, and we are preparing for it, ”Lagarda said.

She noted that digital euros will be relevant for Europe both at the wholesale and retail levels. Wholesale CBDC is designed for financial institutions that conduct interbank calculations and international payments. Individuals will be able to use retail CBDC.

Lagarda added that Europe will continue to follow its plan to introduce digital euros, despite the fact that the United States has changed its position regarding CBDC. Recently, US President Donald Trump signed a decree prohibiting the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to launch a digital dollar.

Earlier, a member of the Executive Council of ECB Piero Cipollone said that digital euro will help Europe gain independence from US and China payment companies, such as MasterCard and Alipay.