{"id":10850,"date":"2026-06-15T15:53:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/?p=10850"},"modified":"2026-06-15T15:53:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:53:00","slug":"kyriakos-pierrakakis-europe-must-act-as-a-single-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/?p=10850","title":{"rendered":"Kyriakos Pierrakakis: Europe must act as a single market"},"content":{"rendered":"

The need for Europe to accelerate its initiatives<\/b> in the field of digital financing, <\/b>by establishing a common European framework for the conversion of financial assets, such as bonds <\/b>and deposits<\/b>, into digital form (tokenization),<\/b> emphasized Kyriakos Pierrakakis<\/a>, Minister of National Economy and Finance and President of the Eurogroup ,<\/b> during the discussion on the future of digital finance<\/b> in Europe held as part of a conference of the European Central Bank<\/b> in Frankfurt<\/b>.<\/p>\n

During the discussion, the need to avoid a new fragmentation of the single market was highlighted,<\/b>as member states are currently moving at different paces<\/b>in recognizing and utilizing digital financial tools and assets that have been converted into tokens <\/b>(tokenized).<\/p>\n

Mr. Pierrakakis emphasized that Europe must act in a coordinated manner<\/b> and develop a common vocabulary<\/b>and a common strategic direction so that digital finance<\/b> becomes part of the broader European agenda for competitiveness. At the same time, he highlighted the need for the European Union<\/b> to develop a clear and ambitious vision <\/b>for the future of financial markets, following the example of other major economies, such as the United States<\/b>, which have already presented comprehensive strategies <\/b>for leveraging new technologies.<\/b><\/p>\n

The minister stressed that Europe cannot remain stagnant in a rapidly changing environment<\/b>, noting that international developments, including the rapid growth of the stablecoin market <\/b>in the United States, make it imperative to accelerate European initiatives. He also emphasized the importance of cybersecurity<\/b>, noting that it is an increasingly critical factor in the new digital reality.<\/b><\/p>\n

Referring to the rapid developments in the field of artificial intelligence, <\/b>he noted that while public debate may currently focus on a specific model, in a few months the focus will have already shifted<\/b>. This demonstrates that Europe must not get bogged down <\/b>in individual technological developments, but should focus on the big picture. As he pointed out, \u201cif we focus exclusively on a large language model (LLM)<\/b>, it means we\u2019re seeing the tree and missing the forest.\u201d For this reason, he added, it is of critical importance for Europe to gain control <\/b>and ownership of the necessary digital infrastructure, <\/b>as the stakes are not only economic but also concern European sovereignty.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is extremely important that we own the infrastructure in this sector. This is not just an economic issue. It is also a matter of sovereignty, <\/b>but also a matter of developing innovations based on it,\u201d he stated emphatically.<\/p>\n

Referring to the process of converting financial assets into tokens (tokenization),<\/b> the minister clarified that \u201cthis is not a new category of investment products, but a new level of financial infrastructure that is expected to transform the way markets operate.\u201d As he noted, as these deposits, investment funds, and other financial products develop, the demand for high-quality collateral will inevitably increase. In this new environment, countries will not participate solely for the sake of innovation, but because the markets themselves will demand the availability of zero-risk assets<\/b> in the form of tokens.<\/p>\n

Mr. Pierrakakis also emphasized that the common approach developed within the Eurogroup<\/b>, under the guidance of the European Central Bank,<\/b> as well as the establishment of a collectively agreed common vocabulary, are critical prerequisites for the success of the endeavor. \u201cWe must move quickly,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The need for Europe to accelerate its initiatives in the field of digital finance by establishing a common European framework for …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}