ECB launches survey on issues for new euro banknotes | free press

2023-07-10 13:51:17

The European Central Bank wants to make counterfeiting more difficult with a new series of banknotes. People should be able to identify with the bills and have a say in the design.

Frankfurt/Main.

The euro currency guardians want to involve the people in the common currency area in the design of new euro banknotes. Until the end of August, Europeans can express their views on themes for the next series of euro banknotes on the European Central Bank’s (ECB) website, such as the central bank announced on Monday in Frankfurt.

“Our single currency and our common European identity are closely linked,” said ECB President Christine Lagarde. “We want people in Europe to be able to identify with the design of the euro banknotes. That is why they will be actively involved in choosing the new theme.”

There are seven different themes to choose from, including European culture, birds as a symbol of unrestricted mobility, rivers or hands. Parallel to the survey on the ECB’s website, a polling institute is conducting a representative survey in the euro area on the proposed topics on behalf of the central bank.

Bills should have a longer lifespan

In December 2021, the ECB initiated a process to redesign the notes. Central banks regularly develop new series of banknotes to make counterfeiting more difficult. The ECB also wants to reduce the environmental impact. For example, the bills should have a longer lifespan. “The declared goal is to prevent counterfeiting and to reduce the environmental impact of banknotes,” explained ECB Executive Board member Fabio Panetta.

However, it will still be a few years before people hold the new bills in their hands. The ECB Governing Council intends to select the theme for the next generation of banknotes by 2024. A design competition will then take place. Citizens should then be asked again for their opinion. The central bank is expected to make a decision on the future design and timing of the production and issue of the new banknotes in 2026. Experience has shown that it then takes two to three years for the new notes to come into circulation.

Unlike earlier national currencies, the motifs on the current euro banknotes are comparatively sober: buildings that don’t actually exist. The first euro banknotes were issued on January 1, 2002. Since May 2019, the second generation of euro notes has been complete with new security features. (dpa)