According to a report in German alternative media Kopp online Germany will begin to abolish cash transactions step by step from August 2012, putting the EU directive 2009/110/EC (PDF) into practice. Germany is the next country after Greece, where the ECB recommended such cash payment limits in May 2010 , and Italy, where cash transactions above €1,000 have been limited since December 4, 2011. While the official reasoning says this is to combat tax fraud, it is actually another step towards total surveillance in the European Union. All forms of electronic payments can be traced completely. Ironically a study from the German Bundesbank (PDF) from 2009 arrives at the conclusion that cash fulfills all functions of a payment device in the best way. Germans still conclude 60% of their transactions with cash.
