EU Commission unveils 2027 work programme, targets digital euro legislation

The digital euro's appearance in a formal Commission work programme signals that legislative talks are moving from concept to calendar, with the Eurogroup and ECB named as co-drivers — a configuration that concentrates the policy process among EU institutions rather than market participants. For banks, payment firms and stablecoin issuers, the practical question is how a central bank digital currency would sit alongside private tokenised money in the single market. Whether the legislative track advances on the programme's timeline, and how the private-sector consultation shapes the design, is the open question worth watching.