Canary Islands, along with other islands and overseas territories belonging to Eurozone states, will be integrated into the final design of the next series of euro banknotes in the next phase of the project, once the winning proposal has been chosen, as confirmed by the European Central Bank (ECB).
"These islands and territories will be incorporated during the next phase of the redesign, once the final proposal has been selected and it has been adapted for its conversion into real banknotes," an official spokesperson for the ECB has confirmed to Europa Press.
A few days ago, the monetary entity announced the ten designs that aspire to replace the current euro banknotes and launched a public consultation to gather the opinion of European citizens on each of the alternatives. This questionnaire can be completed until September 21.
Among the ten preselected proposals, there are five under the slogan "European culture," focused on the shared cultural legacy and prominent European figures, and another five grouped under the theme "Rivers and birds," which highlights the resilience and diversity of the continent's natural ecosystems.
However, none of these initial designs represented the outermost regions of the EU, including the Canary Islands, the French territories of Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion, Mayotte, and Saint Martin, as well as the Portuguese archipelagos of Azores and Madeira.
On this point, the ECB has clarified that the guidelines on the map of Europe sent to the creative teams were general in nature and did not detail how the overseas territories or European islands should be displayed.
The result of the consultation opened by the ECB will be one of the elements that will influence the final choice. The evaluations of the design competition jury, a technical analysis, and data from two surveys will also be considered, given that an independent market research firm will conduct another parallel consultation with the same questions to a representative sample of residents in the Eurozone.
In addition, the institution plans to incorporate innovations in security for the new series of banknotes, with the aim of facilitating their authentication and improving accessibility, particularly for people with visual disabilities.