Bundesbank urges Europe’s digital and financial sovereignty

Deutsche Bundesbank President Fritzi Köhler-Geib delivered a keynote speech in Hamburg on the 40th anniversary of the International Bankers Forum, focusing on Europe’s financial and technological autonomy.

• She argued that Europe must become more independent in technology and finance, highlighting that Europe imports over 80% of digital infrastructure and that nearly two thirds of euro-area card payments in 2022 were processed by non-European providers.
• She also outlined ongoing policy and institutional steps, including reduced bureaucracy, a proposed 28th regime / EU Inc., a digital-souvereignty paper covering chips, cloud, data centers, AI, robotics and quantum computing, the digital euro, and the Pontes Initial Launch for wholesale CBDC later this year.