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France is spearheading the effort with Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, following a series of backroom meetings in October to secure a unified front against the Libra currency.
The countries' deputy finance ministers put their position to the rest of the EU behind closed doors on Monday in Brussels, four people in the room said.
Their opposition raises the barrier to introducing Libra in Europe and may add pressure on Facebook plus the 20 other companies and organizations behind the initiative to give it up. Mastercard and Visa have already left the group.
Fears surrounding Libra — which was launched in June in partnership with the likes of ride-hailing app Uber and music-streaming service Spotify — stem from the prospect of Facebook allowing its 2.4 billion users to pay with a digital currency that could supplant established currencies. That would undermine governments’ control over national finances.
The Paris-led coalition is encouraging EU governments to consider banning Libra altogether, according to eurozone diplomats and European Commission officials who spoke to POLITICO.