Authored by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes via the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE),
For years, the digital euro was presented by the European Central Bank (ECB) merely as a modern and practical alternative to banknotes and coins. It has now been openly acknowledged that the project is intended to respond to the dominance of American payment companies. Visa and Mastercard process 61 percent of card payments in the euro area, according to the ECB’s own data, and it is this dependence that Brussels intends to break.
On June 23, the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) approved its negotiating position on the digital euro legislative package by 43 votes to 14. Although this approval does not constitute the final law, a final agreement with the Council is expected by the end of 2026, with implementation projected to begin only from 2029 onward.
The project, which has historically been justified by the ECB as merely a matter of convenience compared with cash, was this time presented in a European Parliament statement as a genuinely European payment option, in an attempt to counter the dominance of major American payment companies, in what could represent yet another escalation of tensions in transatlantic relations. Visa and Mastercard’s dominance of cross-border transactions in Europe generates billions of euros in fees; a significant reduction in that dominance would weaken the dollar, represent an economic loss for these American companies, and threaten one of Washington’s soft-power tools. Whatever the outcome of this dispute between blocs, it is the European citizen who first bears the cost of the response chosen by Brussels.
This development reflects the increasingly protectionist approach that the European Union has adopted in the technological sphere, as seen with the Digital Markets Act and the recent Tech Sovereignty Package, making open competition and private innovation more difficult. Under the pretext of defending European sovereignty, Brussels has chosen to create centralized public infrastructures. But money is not infrastructure. It is the instrument through which the state and the citizen negotiate, every day, the boundaries of individual freedom. That is why, since the beginning of discussions on the digital euro, a particularly dangerous direction of travel has been emerging.
According to the negotiating position that has now been approved, it will not be citizens, but rather the European Commission, acting on a recommendation from the ECB, that will determine the maximum amount of digital euros each person may hold, likely around €3,000 (just under $3,500) with periodic reviews.
In addition, companies will not be allowed to maintain digital euro balances for more than 24 hours, except for accumulating received payments, which must be automatically transferred after that period.
This prevents businesses from using the digital euro as a treasury management tool, a liquidity reserve, or for routine payments such as suppliers and payroll.
Through this rule, Brussels strengthens centralized state control and significantly reduces the usefulness of the digital euro for the business sector. Companies lose freedom and options.
Holding limits and restrictions imposed on businesses, while shocking to advocates of freedom, are not new. These ideas have been embedded in the digital euro project since its initial stages. In the legislative proposal presented by the European Commission in 2023, the ECB and Brussels explicitly acknowledged that limits would be imposed on the amount of digital euros each citizen could hold, under the familiar justification of “protection,” in this case, protecting financial stability and preventing deposit flight from commercial banks. The novelty, therefore, does not lie in the principle but in its implementation. What was in 2023 an open possibility has now become a concrete decision, clearly made without regard for the wishes of citizens themselves.
These conditions follow the same logic of centralized control found in China’s digital currency, the digital yuan (e-CNY). In the Chinese system, there is also the possibility of obtaining higher limits in exchange for surrendering more personal data and accepting less privacy, a model of “tiered privacy” in which freedom is always sacrificed and only the degree of submission to the state remains open to choice. Thus, in order to reduce dependence on American payment companies in the name of “European sovereignty,” instead of strengthening private competition and liberalizing the market, Europe is importing the model of state control that China has refined.
Although the ECB publicly denies that the digital euro will be a programmable currency, these kinds of technological and centralized solutions always leave open the possibility that conditional functionalities may be built upon their architecture. Money can be made to expire, be conditioned, or be tracked, transforming it into a public-policy instrument far more powerful than cash has ever been. To combat an alleged external dependence on North America, Europe is creating an even more dangerous internal dependence, one in which money ceases to be an instrument of individual freedom and open markets, and instead becomes a tool of control and geopolitical rivalry.
In the end, the digital euro does not liberate Europe, modernize it, or make payments more convenient. It merely changes who holds control, shifting it from American private companies to European public authorities, and strengthens that control in the process.
At its core, this project reveals a profound civilizational choice: money ceases to belong primarily to individuals, as the state assumes the power to define the limits of financial freedom.
Brussels not only threatens the freedom of its citizens, but also risks escalating transatlantic tensions. A direct challenge to the dominance of U.S. payment giants and the dollar’s global infrastructure is unlikely to be ignored passively in Washington.
The more money is transformed into an instrument of public policy and geopolitical rivalry, the smaller the space becomes for individual freedom and open markets.
Tyler Durden Thu, 07/23/2026 - 03:30Bulgaria has for many years during the so-called Global War on Terror been a major Eastern European hub for US and Western weapons shipments as well as military aircraft transfers related to the Middle West.
But now Iran is paying close attention, putting the Bulgarian government on notice over a planned temporary deployment of up to eight American refueling aircraft.
USAF file imageThe large military planes are set to be housed at Bezmer Air Base in the NATO country's southeast. It is one of the few joint bases at which US forces have a lot of freedom of operation.
The request from Washington is being framed as a way to relieve pressure on Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, where dozens of parked refueling tankers have disrupted normal commercial flight operations.
Additionally, it comes after a number of EU allies, especially Italy and Spain, have blocked US Air Force planes that are engaged in any way in Operation Epic Fury.
On Wednesday, the Bulgarian parliament voted to allow the US refueling planes to be based in the country:
Bulgaria’s parliament votes to allow the United States to base refueling planes in the country, as Donald Trump threatens to further escalate military attacks on Iran.
Washington made the request Friday, and parliament approved it with 136 votes in favor, 13 against and two abstentions.
Bulgaria will authorize the deployment of up to eight KC-135 tanker aircraft and up to 250 military personnel, tasked with supporting operations in the Middle East. They will be stationed at Bezmer Air Base in the southeast, from July 24 to October 1, 2026.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has warned against Bulgaria becoming complicit in the US war. Tehran described that Bulgaria too will now be a participant in "aggression and war crimes." Also this via Tasnim--
Iran Deputy FM Gharibabadi says "European governments need to be aware that providing bases and territory to the aggressor will put them among the aggressors."
Back in April, when there were signs of moving American planes onto Bulgarian soil, Tehran sent Sofia a diplomatic note and protest cautioning against allowing this.
US European Command has meanwhile warned it is ready to respond if Iran threatens any kind of aggression or retaliation on Bulgaria.
Wiki Commons"The United States maintains regional defensive capabilities across NATO's eastern flank, including in Bulgaria, and works closely with the Bulgarian government and our allies and partners throughout the broader region," the US command said. "We remain vigilant and prepared to counter any potential threats."
Bulgaria itself has downplayed that these US planes will have a direct role in aggression against Iran, but it's hard to see what say the Bulgarian government would have in how the US Air Force uses its planes.
Tyler Durden Thu, 07/23/2026 - 02:45A veteran Swedish police officer says tougher criminal laws have sharply improved security in Uppsala, but warns that Islamization and parallel social structures now pose a deeper long-term threat.
Maria Rosander, a police officer of 17 years and Sweden Democrat group leader in Uppsala, told Samnytt that conditions for officers had changed dramatically since shootings and explosions reached crisis levels.
“From a police point of view, it’s like night and day,” she said.
Rosander credited tougher sentences, expanded surveillance, better cooperation between police regions, and greater use of covert measures. Suspected young gang recruits can now be intercepted before carrying out attacks, she said.
The improvement showed that political decisions could reverse criminal decline, but it still has a long way to go. “We have come to the conclusion that it is not profitable to be a criminal,” Rosander said.
However, the police chief suggested that while legislation to tackle gang violence was starting to produce the desired effect, religious segregation and increased Islamization across Swedish society remain a huge problem.
“Islamization is a contributing factor to what we have seen in society. I am absolutely convinced of that,” she said.
Rosander described the mosque in Uppsala as a symbol of segregation, honor-based oppression and unequal treatment of men and women. She said female officers were often ignored in favor of male colleagues and claimed girls in heavily segregated areas were kept away from public life.
“We are letting Islamization creep in to the point where we will not be able to say no,” she said. “Society is being eaten from within.”
Rosander called for a halt to new mosque construction, restrictions on the niqab and burqa in public, and a ban on children wearing Islamic veils.
She also rejected the language of integration. “I think we should talk about assimilation,” she said.
Swedish society, Rosander argued, should not continually adapt to newcomers who maintain separate cultural and social systems. She criticized multilingual municipal information, saying it removed incentives to learn Swedish.
Rosander further claimed that parallel structures were facilitating welfare abuse, false address registration, and informal financial transfers through religious networks.
She described couples registering at separate addresses while remaining married under Islamic law, allowing them to claim additional housing and benefits.
“The woman receives housing allowance, extra allowance and an apartment for her children,” she said. “The man also receives an apartment that he rents out illegally.”
Rosander also warned that foreign criminal gang networks were deeply established in Uppsala’s vulnerable districts. “We absolutely have gang structures in our society,” she said.
She said extended families repeatedly appeared in criminal investigations and described reports of business owners being forced to pay protection money.
“It’s classic mafia,” she said. “I see clan and mafia as basically the same thing.”
“It’s not the Swedes. These are foreign groups that have connections to organized crime and networks,” Rosander added.
“It is not Swedish youth who commit these crimes.”
Rosander called for stricter background checks for sensitive public-sector positions, arguing that clan loyalty could override loyalty to Swedish institutions.
She also criticized Uppsala Municipality for allegedly failing to scrutinize the foreign funding of Muslim associations and mosque projects.
“If you can’t account for 100 percent where the money comes from, it should never be opened,” she said.
Rosander supports an active remigration policy and wants Uppsala to establish a municipal unit focused on illegal residence, improper settlement, and misuse of public housing.
“For me, remigration is necessary,” she said.
She said Sweden’s success in reducing crime proved that its cultural decline could be reversed, but only if politicians were willing to confront uncomfortable realities.
“As a Swede, I should not have to change my life and start deviating from things that we in Sweden have always done just to suit someone else,” she said.
Read the full interview here.
Tyler Durden Thu, 07/23/2026 - 02:00