Hitting the right note: apolitical animals or European heroes for new euro designs?

The European Central Bank is redesigning euro banknotes as a statement about European identity. The public gets to vote: should new currency feature cultural icons like Marie Curie, Cervantes, and Beethoven, or wildlife and waterways—a migrating stork and bee-eater—symbolizing borderless movement? The Guardian reports the survey drew more than six million votes in its first week, reflecting surprising public engagement with what the bank frames as a deliberate step away from neutrality and toward identity-building.

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