The European Central Bank used the published account of its 17–18 December 2025 monetary policy meeting to underline two messages at once: interest rates are likely to stay on hold for some time, and Europe’s legislators should move faster on the regulation that would establish a digital euro.
The minutes, released on 22 January 2026, show policymakers judged inflation to be “in a good place”, with the economy proving more resilient than previously expected. Against that backdrop, the Governing Council backed keeping all three key ECB rates unchanged and stressed it would remain data-dependent and “meeting-by-meeting”, without pre-committing to a particular path.
Digital Euro Mention Signals Legislative Pressure Is Becoming Routine
Buried in a broader discussion on competitiveness, capital markets and Europe’s strategic position, the account includes an unusually direct institutional nudge: members argued it was “vital” to complete key integration projects, and called for the rapid adoption of the Regulation on the establishment of the digital euro.
That matters because it frames the digital euro less as a standalone payments project and more as part of a wider package of European resilience tools, alongside the savings and investments union and the banking union. In political terms, it is also a reminder that the ECB’s technical preparation cannot translate into issuance without a clear legal basis agreed by the European Parliament and Council.
On the monetary side, the account highlights how markets have largely converged on a “higher for longer” assumption. Investors had priced out additional rate cuts in 2026, and some policymakers noted that, beyond 2026, markets and surveys pointed to the next move eventually being a hike, though with uncertainty around timing.
At the same time, the minutes show an internal debate about risks in both directions. Some members worried that a period of inflation undershooting, driven largely by energy dynamics, could last long enough to become problematic. Others focused on upside risks from wages and sticky services inflation. This two-sided risk framing is part of why the ECB emphasised “optionalities” and cautious communication around future moves.
For the digital euro dossier, the significance is less about the detail of the ECB’s design choices and more about institutional signalling. By repeating the call for rapid legislative progress inside a core monetary policy document, the ECB is normalising the idea that the digital euro is a strategic infrastructure decision, not simply a technology experiment.
Related: Lagarde Urges Rapid Digital Euro Law as ECB Frames It as Stability Anchor