Euro notes are redesigned: ECB has made pre-selection

The euro banknotes get a new design. However, it will take years until you can hold the new banknotes in your hands.

Birds, rivers, buildings or famous personalities such as Marie Curie and Leonardo da Vinci: Die European central bank (ECB) has one Pre -selection of motifs hit the one planned new euro banknotes should decorate.

“The new banknotes will symbolize our common identity and diversity that makes Europe strong,” said ECB President Christine Lagarde.

Two groups

The first topic of “European culture” is about common cultural sites and “outstanding Europeans”, as the ECB in Frankfurt announced.

Motifs include Nobel Prize winners Marie Curie, composer Ludwig van Beethoven and the painter and sculptor Leonardo da Vinci. On the back, street artists, a library or university are to be seen.

The second group “rivers and birds” deals with the resistance and diversity of nature. On the back of the banknotes, European institutions would be seen on this topic, for example the European Parliament or the European Commission.

“We are pleased to present these realistic motives that express our commitment to Europe and our appreciation for its cultural heritage and nature,” said Lagarde. 365,000 Europeans participated.

The ECB had initiated a process for redesigning the banknotes at the end of 2021.

The new notes should last longer

Central banks regularly develop new banknotes to make craftsmen difficult. The ECB also wants to reduce environmental consequences. For example, the notes should have a longer lifespan.

Before consumers hold the new notes in hands, time will pass. A design competition is scheduled to take place in 2025 so that the ECB council can select final motifs in 2026. Then the ECB wants to present the designs of the population and ask them for their opinion. People can only hold the new banknotes in their hands a few years later, the ECB said.

Confessions for cash

The motifs on current euro banknotes are relatively sober, unlike earlier national currencies: buildings that are actually not available. The first euro banknotes were issued on 2002. Since May 2019, the second generation of the notes has been complete with new security features

At the same time, the ECB is now committed to cash. “We are working on new banknotes because we rely on cash today and in the future. Banknotes are a symbol of European unity,” said Piero Cipollone, Member of the ECB directorate.