2023-08-10 11:35:40
A total of 254,735 European citizens have so far taken part in the public consultation that the European Central Bank (BCE) will remain open until August 31 to find out the opinion of the public on the topics proposed for the design of the next series of euro banknoteswhich will be adopted in 2026.
According to central bank data from the start of the survey last july 10 and until August 8, 2023 a 41.7% of participants were residents in Germany, about 106,224, while 18% identified themselves as residents in France and the 14.9% in Italy.
In the case of Spain, the ECB data indicate that they had completed the survey just over 16,000 people6.3% of the total, ahead of 4,5% of responses from Netherlands and the 2,8% of Austria.
Thus, although it reflects the different population sizes of the euro countries, the weight in the total of the Germany survey far exceeds what the country has in the set of inhabitants of the EU, where it is around 19%. Spain, with some 48 million inhabitants, supposes less than 11% of the EU population.
Also, the BCE highlights that the 62,5% of the participants up to August 8 in the survey were men and the 35.8% womenadding that the age range with the greatest weight to date is that of between 25 to 39 years old, with 37.3% of responses, ahead of the range of 18 to 24 years, with 31.4%, and the range of between 40 to 54 years, with 13.7%.
In this sense, the central bank has indicated that, “in order to guarantee that the opinions of all the euro zone are equally represented”, has also commissioned a independent research company to conduct the survey among a sample group of people representing the diversity of the eurozone population.
He BCE will use the results of the surveys to select the theme of the next generation of banknotes before the end of 2024. A design competition will then be held and European citizens will once again have the opportunity to express your preferences on the selected design options. It is expected that the BCE take a decision on the future design and on the start of production and the issuance of the new banknotes in 2026.
The Preselection of the Governing Council includes seven possible themes for the design of new euro bills. Specifically, it deals with ‘Birds: free, resilient and evocative’; ‘The future is yours’; ‘European culture’; ‘Hands: together we build Europe’; ‘Our Europe, us’; ‘Rivers: the waters of life in Europe’ and ‘European values reflected in nature’.
The list of shortlisted topics takes into account the suggestions made by a multidisciplinary advisory group, composed of members from all euro area countries.
It corresponds to BCE already the national central banks of the euro area guarantee that euro banknotes continue to be an innovative, safe and efficient means of payment, recalls the entity, explaining that the development of new series of banknotes It is standard practice for all central banks.
“There is a close link between our single currency and our common European identity and our new banknote series should highlight it. We want Europeans to identify with the design of the euro banknotes, so they will have an active role in the selection of the new theme“, declared when presenting the consultation the ECB President Christine Lagarde.
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