European citizens invited to decide on their future tickets

2023-07-11 11:47:05

Birds « free », hands or rivers? Citizens of the euro zone are invited to give their opinion on the future design of their banknotes within the framework of a consultation launched by the European Central Bank since Monday 10 July.

“We want Europeans to recognize themselves in the design of euro banknotes”that is why “they will play an active role in the selection of the new theme”assures the President of the ECB, Christine Lagarde.

The idea is that these new banknotes, put into circulation around 2030, speak more to citizens than the current patterns. These show architectural styles without depicting any actually existing monument or bridge.

We want you to have a say in what your #FutureBanknotes will look like. Take part in our survey and share your views on the shortlisted themes https://t.co/qWDVgBiUrppic.twitter.com/0kC3is6jkE

— Christine Lagarde (@Lagarde) July 10, 2023

All inhabitants of the euro zone can respond from Monday until August 31 to a survey on the site ECB Internet. Taken by a large crowd, access to the survey was unavailable on Tuesday, July 11, but the ECB encourages people wishing to give their opinion to come back later.

nature themes

Seven themes were pre-selected by the Board of Governors of the Monetary Institute, which took into account suggestions from a group of experts and of an investigation conducted among Europeans between December 2021 and March 2022.

The participants had pre-selected a set of themes: nature, monuments and cultural sites, portraits, European values, science and progress, and the arts. From this first selection, the Board of Governors of the Monetary Institute established seven themes.

Some, concrete, relate to “birds: free, resilient and inspiring”to the rivers criss-crossing Europe, or to the « mains »symbols of a Europe with “build together”, according to the website. Other more abstract ones evoke the “European culture”, “our Europe and ourselves”the « future » Who « (We) belongs » and the “reflection of European values ​​in nature”.

The ECB will use the results of the online consultation and another carried out with a representative sample of Europeans to select the theme for the next series of banknotes “by 2024”.

The process of creating new tickets. © ECB website

The organization of a graphic design competition will give Europeans another opportunity to express their preferences, before the choice of the chosen designs and the announcement of a timetable for issuing banknotes in 2026.

New designs twenty years after the first banknotes

Fin 2021, twenty years after the first euro banknotes were put into circulation, the ECB had 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: unlike national currencies, there was no question of illustrating buildings and major characters from certain countries.

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.

To establish the future design of future banknotes, the States also have a say in the process. Last advantage, the new tickets will also have to “prevent counterfeiting” et “reduce the impact on the environment”said Fabio Panetta, member of the Executive Board of the ECB, in the press release.