Ms Mairead McGuinness:

Work is going on in this area in terms of our own stability and, equally, related to the use or abuse of cryptocurrencies in fraud and terrorism. Deputies might remind me to speak about a digital euro, which is also being discussed. Work is under way to stop the issues the Deputy referenced occurring. It goes back to the point I made about the evolution of the digital era in finance, which has been accelerated by Covid-19. There are many innovative fintech companies starting up, which is positive. Equally, with the speed at which this has happened and cryptocurrencies have been established, we have to regulate stronger and better to avoid such issues. We are well aware of that.

This speaks to the wider point I made about combating money laundering. Member states were doing their own thing and having some connections, one with the other. We intend to strengthen the co-ordination at EU level and with Europol so that when incidents happen in any member state, the information is shared and available.

There is a significant amount of work going on within the Commission around a guarantee, as well as protecting against the abuse of these currencies and their misuse in terms of fraudulent activity. We are considering the possibility of introducing a digital euro. Members will know that some of the major digital companies are considering launching a digital coin or currency. That perhaps puts more emphasis at EU level on investigating what a digital euro might look like and what its impact would be. The current timetable is for the ECB to come to, at least, an initial decision by the summer of next year because other major players globally are doing work on digital currencies. I cannot see it happening for a couple of years, but it is something that we need to be on top of. There is a working group within the Commission that works with the ECB on this topic. I am sure it will be on the radar of the committee, as it is on mine, in the weeks and months to come.