On Friday, EU ministers reached an agreement on the next steps for the rollout of a digital euro. The electronic currency is intended to be an alternative to the dominant American payment systems of Visa and Mastercard. The ECB hopes to have the legislation ready by June. The ECB expects to have the legislation ready by June. After that, the bank will need another two and a half to three years to actually launch the digital euro.
A new survey by the European Central Bank suggests that President Donald Trump's tariffs on EU products could trigger a major, long-lasting change in European consumer habits.