"To lay the groundwork for a seamless and secure launch, we will run a 12-month internal pilot in the second half of 2027," European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on October 17 at the International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Bangkok, per Bitcoin.com News. The ECB has lined up 36 payment providers for the pilot, which will test payments, account setup, merchant acceptance and offline use. A bloc-wide launch could follow in 2028 or 2029, but only once the enabling regulation is final, a step Lagarde called key. That law is still being negotiated. In July the European Parliament moved the single currency package, covering issuance, digital euro payment services outside the EU and added cash and banknote provisions, into the negotiation phase, and it still needs agreement with the Council. The ECB argues from sovereignty. Lagarde has warned that widespread stablecoin use could privatize money and create systemic risks, and Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel argued in August that central bank money beats stablecoins. Washington reaches for similar language, with Executive Order 14178 describing US digital currency policy as protecting the dollar's sovereignty.