Since Monday, nationals of the European Union can choose the future pattern of their new banknotes, still in full design, about to change graphics. Among the illustrations in the running, “free” birds or rivers, proposed as part of a consultation launched by the European Central Bank (ECB).
“We want Europeans to recognize themselves in the design of the euro banknotes”, which is why “they will play an active role in the selection of the new theme,” ECB President Christine Lagarde said in a statement.
The idea is that these new banknotes, which Europeans should not have in their hands until 2029 or 2030, speak more to citizens than the current motifs showing architectural styles without representing an actually existing monument or bridge.
All eurozone residents can make their choice from Monday until the end of August, when this survey on the ECB’s website will be closed. Seven themes were pre-selected by the Board of Governors of the Monetary Institute, which took into account suggestions from a group of experts.
Concrete themes relate to “birds: free, resilient and inspiring”, to the rivers crisscrossing Europe, or even to the “hands”, symbols of a Europe to “build together”, according to the press release. Others, more abstract, refer to ‘European culture’, ‘our Europe and ourselves’, the ‘future’ which ‘belongs (to us)’ and the ‘reflection of European values ??in nature’.
The ECB will use the results of this survey, together with another survey of a representative sample of Europeans, to select the theme for the next series of banknotes “by 2024”, according to the communicated.
A graphic design competition will then be organised, which will give Europeans another opportunity to express their preferences, before the choice of the designs selected and the announcement of a timetable for issuing tickets in 2026.
At the end of 2021, 20 years after the first euro banknotes were put into circulation, the Central Bank announced that it wanted to clean up their design. The choice of the first series had given rise to fiery debates on the subject in the 1990s.
Current banknotes show Romanesque or Gothic arches and other modern architectural elements, as Member States have never been able to agree on a selection of great figures embodying the history of the Old Continent.
These States will also have a say in the choice of the future design of banknotes. As well as being more meaningful to younger generations of Europeans, these future banknotes should “prevent counterfeiting” and “reduce the impact on the environment”, ECB Executive Board member Fabio Panetta said in the communicated.
