By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s Governing Council expects to make its final decision around the end of this year on the design of the next generation of euro banknotes, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said Monday.

More than 9 million people have already responded to an online survey on the ten shortlisted designs, Cipollone said in a keynote speech at the House of the Euro in Brussels, where the ECB maintains its representative office.

“More than 9 million people have already taken part, which makes it one of the most successful European public surveys ever conducted,” he said.

The survey, which remains open until September 21, asks participants to assess designs based on two themes: “European culture” and “Rivers and birds,” Cipollone said.

The Governing Council selected the ten proposals on July 23 from a shortlist drawn up by an independent jury comprising design experts and civil society representatives from across the euro area, he said.

“The choices we make in the coming months – and the Governing Council’s final decision around the end of this year – will shape the appearance of our currency for many years to come,” Cipollone said.

The banknotes would be introduced in stages during the next decade, he said. The modernization would accommodate advanced security features, explore ways to make banknote materials more sustainable and help preserve Europeans’ connection with their currency, he said.

Cipollone also backed proposed European Union legislation intended to reinforce the acceptance of cash and ensure convenient access to it.

“If adopted, the Regulation will be a milestone for the euro,” he said. It would reaffirm the principle that “people in the euro area should be able to pay with cash whenever they choose.”

The European Parliament joined the Council of the EU in adopting its negotiating position on the proposed regulation in July, Cipollone said. The measure forms part of the Single Currency Package alongside the proposed digital euro regulation.

Cipollone said the Eurosystem and the banking sector had a shared responsibility to ensure that banknotes and coins remained accessible and usable. The Eurosystem maintained a strategic contingency stock of banknotes to meet unexpected increases in demand or sudden supply disruptions, he said.

Cash also strengthened the resilience of the payments system because it remained available during electricity and internet outages, cyberattacks and other disruptions, Cipollone said.

“And let me be clear: digital payments do not make cash any less important,” he said. “Cash and digital forms of money complement each other.”

The ECB was investing in both euro cash and the digital euro so that Europeans would retain access to central bank money in physical and digital form for everyday transactions, Cipollone said.

“Looking ahead, the future of public money in Europe is both digital and physical,” he said. “That is not a contradiction. It is our strategy.”