The Eurogroup, a body comprising the Finance Ministers of the Eurozone countries, said the digital euro could not be programmable money, in a statement on Monday. In other words, there would be no restrictions on the types of goods and services to be purchased or on the time for use of the digital euro.

This was just one of several views stated by the Eurogroup after its meeting to take stock of the progress of the digital euro, the bloc's central bank digital currency (CBDC). The project began in July 2021 and is expected to be in the investigation phase for 24 months.

The EU is just one among more than 100 jurisdictions around the world that are researching or developing a CBDC, while the U.S. remains cautious on the merits of a CBDC. The EU Commission is responsible for proposing a digital euro bill later this year and EU leaders are expected to decide whether to use a digital euro after October 2023.

(By Amitoj Singh)