2025-09-29
Today in Tallinn, policymakers and financial market supervisors will discuss the future and security of payments in Europe. The conference “Payments & Policy in a Changing Environment”, hosted by the central banks of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, focuses on the digital euro: why Europe needs a central bank digital currency and how governments and payment service providers should prepare for it.
“The digital euro is much more than just a means of payment. It is a historic opportunity to strengthen the payment system, open the door to innovation and expand the range of services offered across Europe. For Lithuania, it would also mean strengthening the economy against external shocks and an additional tool to ensure the availability of safe money,” says Marius Skuodis, Member of the Board of Lietuvos bankas. He will discuss the role of the digital euro in strengthening the resilience of European payment systems in times of geopolitical and technological uncertainty.
The conference will look at various aspects of the digital euro from the idea itself to legal and technological progress, solutions on how the digital euro could be integrated with local and pan-European payment systems, the opportunities it would offer to citizens and businesses and the challenges it would face. The focus will be on the security and resilience of the European and Baltic payment sectors and the role of the digital euro in strengthening these aspects.
“One of the most important expected features of the digital euro is to ensure access to money in any circumstances, even without an internet connection, and to guarantee the highest level of privacy and security,” says Evaldas Ruzgys, the appointed Member of the Board of Lietuvos bankas. He will discuss major threats to payment services and financial stability, actions by the Baltic central banks to prevent them and the opportunities offered by the digital euro in crisis management.
The conference will feature opening remarks by Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, a panel discussion of national and EU financial policy makers, representatives of banks, fintech and other organisations.
The event will be held in English. The programme is available here.