["JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nThe future of money is a crucial issue in the digital age, and the emergence of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) is widely recognised as a transformative development. However, despite its significant implications for monetary sovereignty, regulatory governance and strategic autonomy, we know relatively little about the political dynamics shaping the European Union (EU) digital euro project. This study addresses this gap by examining how and why EU institutions – particularly the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission – have mobilised around the digital euro. The article draws on theories of supranational entrepreneurship and actor‐centred constructivism, and it employs a qualitative research design that combines inter alia legislative texts, institutional documents and expert interviews. It shows that the ECB and the Commission have constructed a mutually reinforcing narrative on financial innovation, internal market integration and geopolitical resilience which has enabled coordinated policy entrepreneurship. At the same time, conflicts over design elements – such as holding limits, remuneration and governance competences – highlight persistent conflicts amongst stakeholders and bureaucratic rivalries. By demonstrating how digital monetary innovation in the EU is both strategically driven and politically contested, the article offers insights into the politics of European sovereignty in the digital age. [Correction added on 21 January 2026, after first online publication: The previous sentence has been corrected in this version.]"]