Plans for a digital euro by the European Union represent a severe threat to the freedoms of people living within the union, UK-based opponents of the proposal have warned, warning UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak against a similar approach.
The warnings came after the European Central Bank (ECB) stated that it was pushing forward with plans to establish a digital version of the single currency, which is used in 19 EU member countries (but not in the United Kingdom, which uses the pound).
Discussing the plan earlier this week, ECB chief Christine Lagarde said it was important to “prepare our currency for the future” – and denied a digital euro would replace cash.
The next phase of what it termed “the digital euro project” will start in November, and will initially last two years. It will involve finalising the digital euro rulebook and “selecting providers” which could develop a digital euro platform and infrastructure, the ECB announced earlier this week.
In response, Reform UK leader Richard Tice said: “We are 100 percent opposed to central banking and digital currencies.”
Expanding on his reasons, Reform UK spokesman Gawain Towler added: “This would give Governments the power to control people’s lives.
“The thing about digital currency is if you’ve got Mahatma Gandhi running it, it’s lovely.
“But modern politicians, who would sell their grandmothers to get five more points in the opinion polls, are not Mahatma Gandhi.
“I would not trust them an inch. When it comes to the digital currency itself, it isn’t evil, it’s morally inert. It’s about how it is used.”