
ECB accelerates digital euro preparation work
0
In its third progress report on the preparation phase of a CBDC, the ECB acknowledges that since its last update in December, there has been an increased push from the continent's leaders to reduce its reliance on Visa and Mastercard.
In March, leaders put out a statement warning that: "In a more fragmented and digital world, accelerating progress on a digital euro is key to support a competitive and resilient European payment system, contribute to Europe's economic security and strengthen the international role of the euro."
In the latest report, ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone says: "We are pleased to see that our efforts remain on track as we keep working to deliver on the request of EU leaders to accelerate progress on a digital euro. In light of today's geopolitical and economic challenges, we welcome an ambitious pace for the legislative work."
In recent months, the ECB has launched an innovation platform with around 70 market participants conducting technical tests of features such as conditional payments and exploring conceptual ideas and use cases for integrating the digital euro into the financial ecosystem.
In parallel, the ECB has worked with small merchants, vulnerable consumers and under-represented groups through focus groups, interviews and collaborations with consumer associations to understand their needs, preferences and challenges to ensure the digital euro's design is as inclusive and accessible as possible.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
RNLI releases footage of moment crews pulled 19 migrants from the sea as charity defends Channel rescues after 'taxi service' claims
The RNLI has shared dramatic footage of a crew rescuing 19 migrants from a capsized boat in the Channel - as the charity hit back at claims it acts like a 'taxi service' for illegal entrants. Footage shows a group of screaming men thrashing around in the sea as RNLI volunteers throw mini life jackets - known as horseshoes - in their direction. The migrants - who are wearing little more than t-shirts - are then seen clambering up the side of the boat before being hauled aboard. One crew member, Dan Sinclair, said in the video: 'These people genuinely need our help. They are in distress. They have been in this situation for potentially hours on end and have become frozen - almost paralysed in position.' The RNLI released the footage - filmed at 4.50am in August 2023 - as it defended its 'compassionate' small boat rescues, adding that the 114 it carried out last year amounted to just 1.2 per cent of total launches and led to 58 lives being saved. All 19 people rescued by the RNLI in this incident survived, but six people pulled out of the sea died after being pulled from the sea by other attending vessels. Lifeboat crew members - who are overwhelmingly volunteers - said they would continue to attend any incident the Coastguard sends them to and will go to the aid of anyone in trouble at sea. Nigel Farage previously hit out at the RNLI by claiming it had become 'a taxi service for illegal immigration'. Nearly 24,000 small boat migrants have arrived in the UK so far this year - sparking widespread public fury. Crossings continued today, with migrants seen running across a beach in northern France to pile onto an overcrowded dinghy. Paula Lain, who works as a management consultant when she is not volunteering for the RNLI, told the BBC: 'When our pager goes, we're not thinking about anything political. 'We're all thinking about people. We're actively compassionate. That's what drives us beyond any moral or civic responsibility. 'When we're tasked, we don't know what we're going to be tasked to. We're there to help people in their most distressing times.' The August 2023 incident shown in the footage was described as one of the RNLI's 'most challenging' rescues yet. Many of the migrants swam directly to the lifeboat as soon as they spotted it and were pulled on board - joining 68 people who had already been rescued from another dinghy. Some needed immediate medical attention and others collapsed with sheer exhaustion when they got to safety. RNLI crew members said they have been accused of facilitating illegal immigration, but Mr Sinclair defended their work. The beach at Gravelines is a common departure point for migrants. French police have been heavily criticised for failing to stop the departures Recalling one recent rescue, he told the BBC: 'There was a little girl on that boat. 'When we took that little girl - who was probably four years old - off that boat, she looked at me straight in the eye and she said 'Thank you. I love you.' 'Now, as a father that went straight through my heart. I know I am in the right place at the right time and I am doing exactly what I should be doing.' Photos taken this morning on a beach in Gravelines in northern France showed groups of migrants wading through waves towards a smuggler's dinghy, which already appeared to be dangerously overcrowded. Officials are now planning to use AI to check migrants' ages after shocking figures showed four out of 10 who claimed to be children were lying. Home Office figures show that between mid-2022 and June 2024, 11,449 age disputes were raised by UK Border Force staff. Some 8,791 were resolved with 3,570 - amounting to 40 per cent - having lied about being under 18. A staggering 1,305 of those caught lying about their age were from Afghanistan, in a bid to get special protection in the UK. Child refugees cannot be deported and have the right to the same healthcare, education and sustenance as British children. Nigel Farage criticised the RNLI's lifeboat rescues in 2021, before he became leader of Reform. Sharing a photo of a lifeboat 'rammed full' of migrants, he said: 'Sadly the wonderful RNLI in Kent has become a taxi service for illegal immigration, to the dismay of all involved. What a state of affairs.' Simon Ling, head of lifeboats at RNLI said today: 'The core purpose of the RNLI is to save lives at sea. We strongly believe that whilst anyone can drown, nobody should. 'We do this across all of the UK and Ireland but the Channel attracts attention and we understand why. 'It polarises opinions, but to RNLI it's very simple - it's men and women getting up in the middle of the night to go and rescue fellow men and women.'


The Sun
27 minutes ago
- The Sun
McDonald's axing four items from menus TODAY including ‘best ever' McFlurry and popular burger
MCDONALD'S is axing four items from menus today including a beloved burger and popular McFlurry. Fans have just hours to try the fast-food before the items vanish from menus today, July 29. Products getting the boot include the Toffee Crisp McFlurry and The Cheesy McCrispy. The dessert, which features vanilla ice-cream and chunks of the popular chocolate bar, has been on menus since June 18. You can expect to pay £2.49 for the treat, if you are keen to try it before it goes. The Cheesy McCrispy is also being taken off menus today. The burger, which costs £6.69 on its own, is made with a chicken breast fillet in a crunchy coating that is served with lettuce, crispy onions, pickled onion chutney, bacon, white cheddar cheese slices and cheese sauce. If you want to make it a medium meal it cots £8.49, although prices can vary between restaurants. Elsewhere, the popular Katsu Wraps, which come with grilled or crispy chicken and launched, are also vanishing from menus. Finally, Halloumi Fries are also available to order for the last time this Tuesday. They cost just £2.99, or £9.59 for a sharebox. But it is not all doom and gloom, as the popular fast-food chain is set to unveil a whole new menu from tomorrow, Wednesday, July 30. McDonald's Global menu restaurant That includes a brand new Jaffa Cake McFlurry, which combines dairy ice cream swirled with chocolate-covered shortcake pieces and topped with orange sauce. A regular tub of the treat will cost £2.49 when it lands on shelves and contains 331 calories. The fast-food giant is also treating fans to a brand new way to enjoy a fizzy drink. Customers will be able to pick up a cup of Sprite Zero with a pump of either Green Apple or Mango & Passonfruit flavourings. You can check out the full list of menu items arriving in restaurants below: Sprite Zero with syrup - £2.19 (Medium), six calories (Green Apple flavour) or five calories (Mango & Passionfruit flavour) Jaffa Cakes McFlurry - £2.49, 331 calories Chicken Big Mac - £5.19, 531 calories Chilli Cheese Bites - £2.69, 936 calories Steakhouse Stack - £6.49, 632 calories Big Tasty - £7.19, 802 calories Big Tasty with Bacon - £8.09, 849 calories 6 Spicy Chicken McNuggets - £4.89, 254 calories Big Arch - £7.99, 1,057 calories The Fajita Chicken One - £3.69, 362 calories (grilled) or 490 calories (crispy) Milky Way McFlurry - £2.49, 350 calories The Big Arch, which launched on menus last month, will remain on menus for longer. McDonald's regularly switches up its menu to make way for new goods. How to save money at McDonald's Research by The Sun found a Big Mac meal can be up to 30% cheaper at restaurants just two miles apart from each other. You can pick up a Big Mac and fries for just £2.99 at any time by filling in a feedback survey found on McDonald's receipts. The receipt should come with a 12-digit code which you can enter into the Food for Thought website alongside your submitted survey. You'll then receive a five-digit code which is your voucher for the £2.99 offer. There are some deals and offers you can only get if you have the My McDonald's app, so it's worth signing up to get money off your meal. The MyMcDonald's app can be downloaded on iPhone and Android phones and is quick to set up. You can also get freebies and discounts on your birthday if you're a My McDonald's app user.


Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
US, China resume talks in Stockholm to ease tariff hostilities
STOCKHOLM, July 29 (Reuters) - U.S. and Chinese officials began a second day of talks in Stockholm on Tuesday to resolve longstanding economic disputes and step back from an escalating trade war between the world's two biggest economies. The meetings may not yield immediate large breakthroughs but the two sides could agree to another 90-day extension of a tariff truce struck in mid-May. It may also pave the way for a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the year, though Trump on Tuesday denied going out of his way to seek one. The delegations met for more than five hours on Monday at Rosenbad, the Swedish prime minister's office in central Stockholm. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was seen arriving at Rosenbad on Tuesday morning after a separate meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. China's Vice Premier He Lifeng also arrived at the venue. Neither side made statements after the first day of talks. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with Trump's administration, after reaching preliminary deals in May and June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals. Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from U.S. duties snapping back to triple-digit levels that would amount to a bilateral trade embargo. The Stockholm talks follow Trump's biggest trade deal yet with the European Union on Sunday for a 15% tariff on most EU goods exports to the United States, and a deal with Japan. The Financial Times reported on Monday that the United States had paused curbs on tech exports to China to avoid disrupting trade talks with Beijing and support Trump's efforts to secure a meeting with Xi this year. Trump pushed back against suggestions he was seeking a meeting with Xi. "This is not correct, I am not SEEKING anything! I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi, which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest!" he wrote on Truth Social. Meanwhile, in Washington, U.S. senators from both major parties plan to introduce bills this week targeting China over its treatment of minority groups, dissidents, and Taiwan, emphasizing security and human rights, which could complicate the talks in Stockholm. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te is also set to delay an August trip his team had floated to the Trump administration that would have included stops in the United States, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The potential visit would have infuriated Beijing, possibly derailing the trade talks. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, a position Taiwan rejects, and denounces any show of support for Taipei from Washington. Previous U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva and London in May and June focused on bringing U.S. and Chinese retaliatory tariffs down from triple-digit levels and restoring the flow of rare earth minerals halted by China and Nvidia's (NVDA.O), opens new tab H20 AI chips, and other goods halted by the United States. Among broader economic issues, Washington complains that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, while Beijing says U.S. national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth. Bessent has already flagged a deadline extension and has said he wants China to rebalance its economy away from exports to more domestic consumption -- a decades-long goal for U.S. policymakers. Analysts say the U.S.-China negotiations are far more complex than those with other Asian countries and will require more time. China's grip on the global market for rare earth minerals and magnets, used in everything from military hardware to car windshield wiper motors, has proved to be an effective leverage point on U.S. industries.