The future euro banknotes are taking shape and, this time, it will be European citizens themselves who have the final say. On Thursday the European Central Bank presented the ten shortlisted designs from which the new banknotes due to enter circulation from the end of 2026 will be chosen.
More than 1,200 proposals were examined but, in the end, two major themes emerged as capable of telling the story of the continent’s identity: European culture and the richness of nature.
On the one hand are the figures who have left their mark on the history of art, music, science and literature. On the other, rivers and birds that cross the continent’s borders, symbols of Europe’s biodiversity and of the need to protect it.
The ECB opens voting to citizens to choose the euro’s new look
The ten finalist projects were presented by the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde (source in Italian), who invited Europeans to take part in choosing the euro’s new face.
