Europe and Monetary Sovereignty (Moneta e credito)

Summary

• Between 1950 and the present, aggregate per capita national wealth in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain multiplied by 18 times, rising from 37% to 83% of US per capita national wealth.p.3
• The euro represents the second most important currency in the international monetary system, holding a share close to 20%.p.4
• US dollar-denominated stablecoins account for 99% of the global stablecoin market, creating potential external dependencies for European financial infrastructure.p.7

Key insights

1. Sharing monetary sovereignty through the euro restored effective policy decision-making lost under previous volatile fixed exchange rate regimes.p.4
2. Heavy reliance on non-European retail digital payment channels threatens the resilience and economic security of the euro area payment ecosystem.p.5
3. The Eurosystem is carrying out technical preparations for a digital euro to complement physical cash in retail and online transactions.p.6
4. Project Pontes will make central bank money available to settle financial transactions on DLT platforms starting at the end of the third quarter of this year.p.7
5. Connecting TIPS with global instant payment systems aims to shorten correspondent banking chains and lower cross-border transaction costs.p.8
6. Deeper European capital markets would help channel domestic family savings into innovative local firms and strengthen monetary policy transmission.p.12