Birds, rivers… Europeans are asked to give their opinion on the next euro banknotes

Birds or “free” rivers? The citizens of the euro zone are invited to give their opinion from this Monday on the future design of their banknotes in the framework of a consultation launched by the European Central Bank.

seven themes

The idea is that these new banknotes, which Europeans should not get their hands on until 2029 or 2030, speak more to citizens than current motifs that show architectural styles without depicting any actually existing monuments or bridges. All the inhabitants of the euro zone can respond from Monday until the end of August to a survey on the ECB website.

Seven themes were preselected by the Governing Board of the Monetary Institute, which took into account the suggestions of a group of experts. The specific themes are related to “birds: free, resistant and inspiring”, with the rivers that cross Europe, or even with “hands”, symbols of a Europe to “build together”, according to the press release. Other more abstract ones evoke “European culture”, “our Europe and ourselves”, the “future” that “belongs to us” and the “reflection of European values ​​in nature”.

The ECB will use the results of this survey and another carried out with a representative sample of Europeans to select the theme of the next series of banknotes “by 2024”, according to the press release. A graphic design competition will follow, giving Europeans another opportunity to express their preferences, before the choice of selected designs and the announcement of a ticketing schedule in 2026.

“Prevent counterfeiting” and “Reduce environmental impact”

At the end of 2021, twenty years after the first euro banknotes were put into circulation, the Central Bank announced that it wanted to clean up its design. The choice of the first series had given rise to heated debates on the subject in the 1990s.

Current banknotes show Romanesque or Gothic arches and other modern architectural elements, since the Member States have never been able to agree on a selection of great figures that embody the history of the Old Continent.

These States will also have a say in choosing the future banknote design. As well as being more meaningful to younger generations of Europeans, these future banknotes should “prevent counterfeiting” and “reduce the impact on the environment,” Fabio Panetta, a member of the ECB’s executive committee, said in the statement.