The European Central Bank (ECB) has published two reports on market research and prototyping work on a digital euro, both carried out as part of the investigation phase of the digital euro project. The Governing Council of the ECB will decide in autumn 2023 whether to proceed with the preparatory phase of developing and testing a digital euro. If the council chooses to enter the preparatory phase, this does not necessarily mean that a digital euro will be issued. The council will take a specific decision on whether to issue a digital euro at a later stage.