Brian Judge
Research Director, Berkeley Program on Finance and Democracy
With the technical challenges of the digital euro now sorted out, the EU’s governing bodies must approach the politics of monetary infrastructure modernization carefully, cautions BESI’s Brian Judge cautions in an op-ed for Project Syndicate.
Many EU institutions are technically sound but resented by the European public, which focuses primarily on the costs while taking for granted the benefits of integration. The digital euro has the potential to be a common institution with broad participation that contributes to the experience of a shared European identity, argues Judge, who serves as researcher director of the Berkeley Program on Finance and Democracy at BESI. To secure genuine consent of Europeans, Judge says, the European Commission, national governments, and the European Parliament must make the case to their constituents. That case is a strong one: The digital euro would reduce reliance on credit card processors — and their punishing fees.
Judge argues that the digital euro could be a uniting event, demonstrating “the tangible benefits of integration and cross-border cooperation.” The negotiations around the digital euro come at a sensitive time for the European project, he observes. Whether its champions’ vision for a radically reconfigured world or a decline into deeper fragmentation comes to pass may depend on how the debate over the digital euro plays out. “A united EU would remain a continental power uniquely committed to liberal democracy, human rights, and a sustainable future,” Judge counsels, “while a fractured Europe would be far more vulnerable to external coercion.”
Read the full op-ed at Project Syndicate (free newsletter sign-up required).