ECB Official Warns Fragmentation Risk Without Digital Euro

The framing is the notable part: the digital euro is being pitched less as a payments upgrade than as a defensive measure against monetary fragmentation, with banks explicitly positioned as partners rather than casualties. That signals the ECB is managing political resistance from the banking sector as much as designing infrastructure. Whether the fragmentation argument gains traction with national regulators and lenders remains the open question, since the case for a retail CBDC still rests largely on a risk that has yet to visibly materialize.