Christine Lagarde
Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), officially unveiled 10 final design options for the new euro banknotes on Thursday. This will mark the first complete redesign of the European currency since its launch in 2002.
All of the proposed designs fall into two key categories that were endorsed by eurozone citizens in preliminary surveys: “European Culture” and “Rivers and Birds.”
The banknotes may feature portraits of iconic historical figures such as Leonardo da Vinci, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Maria Skłodowska-Curie—a concept dedicated to Europe’s natural heritage. The banknotes are also planned to feature rivers and birds, such as the white stork or the kingfisher.
Eurozone residents were invited to share their opinions on the proposed designs so that the ECB could make its final selection. In response, Europeans turned the proposed euro banknotes into internet memes.
Two new political camps have emerged in Europe: one supports birds, the other supports culture. Even the ECB and the euro itself could not escape becoming the subject of memes.
It took social media about five minutes to turn what was supposed to be “an exercise in forging a shared identity and discussing the future of physical money into a battle of memes and jokes,” writes Euroactive.
