Slovakia adds right to cash payments in constitution over digital euro fears

Slovakia adds right to cash payments in constitution over digital euro fears

Everyone has the right to pay for the purchase of goods and services in cash, says a new amendment to the Slovak constitution that was passed last week with the support of 111 MPs and is meant to protect physical payments from a future in which the digital euro becomes mandatory.

The new amendment was proposed by the Identity and Democracy-aligned Sme Rodina party.

“It is very important that there is a provision in the Constitution based on which we can defend ourselves in the future against any orders from the outside, saying there can only be digital euro and no other payment options,” said MP Miloš Svr?ek, one of the law’s authors during a parliamentary debate.

The EU Commission’s digital euro proposal is expected to arrive on 28 June. Similar to cryptocurrencies, the digital euro could be used for digital payments, but would be controlled by the European Central Bank. However, both institutions insist it is only a supplement, not a cash replacement.