The new euro bills should be more environmentally friendly and safer. Therefore, those who use them every day are now being surveyed.
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| Euro banknotes |
The euro currency guardians want individuals in the single currency region to be involved in the design of future euro banknotes. The European Central Bank (ECB) website stated on Monday in Frankfurt that Europeans may express their views on the next generation of euro banknotes online until the end of August.
"Our common European identity and our single currency are inextricably linked," stated ECB President Christine Lagarde. "We want Europeans to be able to identify with the design of euro banknotes." As a result, they will be actively involved in the selection of the new theme."
There are seven themes to pick from, including European culture, birds as a symbol of freedom, rivers, and hands. throughout addition to the survey on the ECB's website, a polling institution is conducting a representative survey throughout the eurozone on behalf of the central bank on the recommended themes.
The ECB began a plan to redesign the notes in December 2021. Central banks create new series of banknotes on a regular basis to make counterfeiting more difficult.
The ECB also wishes to minimize its environmental effect. Bills, for example, should have a longer lifetime. "The declared goal is to prevent counterfeiting and to reduce the environmental impact of banknotes," ECB Executive Board member Fabio Panetta remarked.
However, it will be some years before the public can grasp the new banknotes in their hands. By 2024, the ECB Governing Council wants to choose the topic for the next generation of banknotes. Following that, there will be a design competition. The citizens' opinions should then be solicited once more.
In 2026, the central bank is expected to make a decision on the future design and timing of manufacture and distribution of new banknotes. It then takes two to three years for the new notes to enter circulation, according to past experience.
Unlike earlier national currencies, the designs on the present euro banknotes are quite sober: non-existent structures. On January 1, 2002, the first euro banknotes were printed. Since May of this year, the second generation of euro notes has included enhanced security elements.
Source: DPA/EU/TAGESSPIEGEL