These words remain as true today as they were at the time. What a long way we have come since then. In January 2002, people in 12 EU countries held euro banknotes and coins in their hands for the very first time.
The ECB has decided on an action plan with an ambitious roadmap to incorporate climate-related goals into the monetary policy framework. Monetary policy has many linkages to payment systems and market infrastructures, where the implementation of monetary policy operations eventually takes place. One such link is the issue of central bank digital currency, CBDC.