MOST calls on government to protect cash payments as a constitutional right

The European Commission proposed launching a digital euro in June 2023. The EC hopes that the investigatory phase of the project will be completed by this coming October. For its part the European Central Bank says that the digital euro will initially be limited in scope, focusing on low-risk applications and small-scale transactions.

On Friday MOST Party MPs Marin Miletić and Zvonimir Troskot called on the Government to legally ensure citizens' right to pay in cash, otherwise they are ready to start collecting signatures for a referendum.

''We are asking the government to guarantee Croatian citizens cash payments, to regulate this legally. If that does not happen, we in Most are ready to take some other measures and go towards a referendum. Together with the people, we will ensure cash payments,'' Miletić said at the press conference at the party's headquarters.

Cash payments must be an alternative to the digital euro, the introduction of which is being planned by the European Central Bank, Miletić emphasized, citing several examples of European countries that have already done something similar: ''Hungary and Slovakia have introduced constitutional protection for cash, Switzerland is on that threshold. Sweden and Norway, completely digitalized countries in every respect, have forced merchants with their laws to not be able to refuse anyone cash payments, wherever you are."

For his part Troskot argued that the introduction of the digital euro is a step towards controlling citizens' consumer activities: "The digital euro is programmable, which ultimately means that you have to spend the digital euros by a certain date, otherwise you will have be penalized with negative interest."

Troskot added that in addition to consumer habits, the European Central Bank can also influence investments through the digital euro: "There is something called an 'acceptable recipient'. This means that you can use the digital euro to program that no one can invest in Tesla shares because there is a certain geopolitical antagonism between the US and the EU and because Tesla is led by Elon Musk, who is not acceptable to Brussels."

Source: HRT