The European Central Bank has decided to consult the European public on shortlisted designs for a new series of euro banknotes. This is a big opportunity for Europe to cement the currency and common identity together, one that the bank has missed in the past. However, while the proposals are certainly an improvement, there is a nagging concern that the bank may drop the ball again.
Banknotes matter. In the UK one only has to look at the (sometimes toxic) debate over the representation of women on banknotes, particularly when Elizabeth Fry was replaced by Winston Churchill on the £5 note. The controversy culminated in Jane Austen’s appearance on the £10 note in 2017. Today, there is a similar debate about putting wildlife on sterling, replacing historical figures such as Ms Austen and Churchill.
So clearly people care. Banknotes are the public face of who we are, as a country and as a people. We want them to express our values, and to be beautiful. They are among the things visitors come into contact with – a kind of business card for a whole jurisdiction. They should be stylish and tell a story.
The choice of what goes on a banknote is significant in another way too. It’s not only about telling others who we are; it’s also about binding us together. It’s a marker to each other of our unity.
Building a European identity
Europe faces a dilemma when it comes to markers of unity. It lacks many of the “thick” symbols – a common language, a religion, a shared sense of history – that many nation states have. (Don’t look too closely; many aren’t as homogenous as they claim.)
Europe does have some of the thinner symbols – the flag and the anthem being obvious examples, passports and open internal borders being others. Although many people identify as European, it is hard to build that demos without some of these markers. Europeans do have shared citizenship, of course, but it is supplementary rather than defining, at least legally.
The introduction of the physical euro in 2002, therefore, was an enormous opportunity to mint markers of a common European identity. Some states recognised that: France insisted on having its extra-European départements appear on the map of Europe on the notes, underlining that this is “theirs”, not something that arrives from “up there”.
Playing it safe
But the tricky question remained: what to put on the notes as symbols of Europe and its values?
Bridges and windows, of course, symbolising links and openness. Geddit?
No people. No bold statements. Borderless maps. Most of all, nothing that could be confused for a “national symbol”. The architecture shown isn’t even of real places (although you can see replicas of the bridges built in Spijkenisse in the Netherlands).
Certainly, the lack of risk in taking this approach can be forgiven. This was a brand-new currency, with worries over Bundesbank dominance, market confidence and whether the structures could work. The ECB couldn’t risk losing support or afford potential ridicule.
A bolder choice
Decades on, we’re in a different place. The bank itself recognises the need to have a “tangible reflection of Europe’s shared identity” and “more relatable motifs [which] can strengthen the bonds between Europeans and their currency”. (This goes alongside the normal updating to prevent counterfeiting.) The new proposals come in two themes:
The European culture theme includes famous Europeans like Marie Curie and Miguel de Cervantes on the obverse, with the reverse showing people engaging in related cultural activities.
The rivers and birds theme unsurprisingly shows birds with water features behind them, with images of the European institutions’ buildings on the reverse.
The birds definitely represent a step up in terms of symbolism compared to the previous series of notes, as they are obviously transnational and a shared physical symbol of the open borders that are part of Europeans’ everyday lives. Some of the images are lovely.
What binds Europeans together?
For all that, official buildings leave me cold as a binding exercise. While we might argue that the European Parliament or the Court of Justice are vital cogs in European democracy and perhaps part of our common identity, can we really say the same for the European Court of Auditors?
Regarding the famous people on the notes, the choices strike me as impeccable. They are enormous contributors to shared European culture, from the invention of the modern novel to the actual European anthem. Less commented on is the fact that at least five of the six (Beethoven, Callas, Curie, Leonardo and Suttner) lived part of their lives in what would become more than one modern European state. They are very much the personification of the shared space and openness that Europe is trying to build. However, the cultural activities on the reverse perhaps lack specificity to Europe.
This is a new phase, a new confidence in Europe’s single currency. The drachma and schilling, the punt and guilder are now the past. How Europeans feel about this is part of how they feel about each other, so it’s worth getting involved and voting. And worth Europe being bold.
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