European citizens can vote on the design of new euro banknotes until the end of today. The European Central Bank (ECB) poll allows participants to choose their preferred option from 10 proposals for the new banknote layout.
According to BTA data, the project includes two main themes: "European culture: shared cultural spaces" and "Rivers and birds: sustainability in diversity". Five design variations have been proposed for each theme. Presenting the projects, ECB President Christine Lagarde stated: "These are 10 very strong proposals, each offering something completely different. Ultimately, one of them will be chosen".
This marks the first comprehensive redesign since euro banknotes were introduced more than 20 years ago. The goal with the new notes is to make them more relatable to Europeans while simultaneously improving their security, sustainability, and accessibility. Online voting is available until 23:59 CET today, which is 00:59 Bulgarian time on 22 September.
The final decision on the new design will be made by the ECB Governing Council by the end of the year. It will be based on technical assessments, the conclusions of the design competition jury, comments, and the results of two surveys – one conducted among citizens and an independent representative study. Following the decision, the selected design will be further developed and tested before entering production. The new series of banknotes will be released into circulation in the coming years, while current banknotes will remain in use until then.