Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), stated at a meeting of the Governing Council of the ECB in Frankfurt am Main:
"A digital currency… is of use and of service to all citizens, so it si not something that is good for the elite or is good for the young or is good for some versus others. If it is well done, and if it is well implemented, it would be of service to all citizens. But clearly, we are not there – there are lots of issues that need to be addressed."
According to the ECB digitalization has spread to every corner of our lives and transformed how we pay and a digital euro would guarantee that citizens in the euro area can maintain costless access to a simple, universally accepted, safe and trusted means of payment. The ECB is closely following China's CDBC pilot program, which is an inspiration but may also be a threat, as China's digital currency plans also include international expansion. The use of foreign CBDCs for European citizens' payments could harm the euro area."
Christine Lagarde's statement can be found here: Christine Lagarde
More information on the digital euro can be found here: Digital Euro