BRUSSELS, Belgium – The European Commission is back on track to publish legislation on a digital euro on June 28, after the controversial topic was previously removed from the executive’s agenda, the bloc’s lead financial services official said on Tuesday.
Commissioner Mairead McGuinness confirmed she would be pressing ahead with a bill to underpin the central bank digital currency, set to cover topics such as privacy, distribution and offline transactions.
"We’re looking forward to presenting both proposals next week," McGuinness told an event in Brussels of the digital euro plans and a parallel law on the legal status of cash.
Plans for the CBDC has raised fears it could lead to state snooping, or usurp the status of banknotes and coins.
Two sources have previously told CoinDesk the topic was removed from the agenda following internal discussions earlier this week, and it was removed from a tentative agenda published by the commission earlier Tuesday.
The European Central Bank is set to take a decision later this year on whether to press ahead with the project after having examined technical details for several years.
"It’s always been on my agenda for next week," McGuinness told CoinDesk.
Read more: EU’s Leaked Digital Euro Bill Outlaws Interest, Large Holdings, Programmability