stevenbron.nl

The European Central Bank is Thursday to present a plan for replacing current euro notes with safer ones from 2013, Hessischer Rundfunk reported Sunday. The second generation euro notes will still have values from five to €500, but motifs will change and improved security features will make forgery more difficult.

Hopefully this means that the new banknotes will also be less boring.

If there's more news today, this article will be updated.

ECB President Mario Draghi has indeed announced that the new series of euro banknotes will be released next year. This second series of the euro has been named the "Europa" series. It will include a portrait of the mythological figure Europa in the watermark and hologram. The new banknotes will be gradually introduced starting with the 5 euro note in May 2013. Apart from the watermark and hologram an emerald number and other modern security features will be incorporated in the new design. 

The Europa series will have the same denominations as its predecessor: €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and €500, and they will be introduced in ascending order. They will circulate alongside the first series of euro notes but these will gradually be withdrawn and cease to be legal tender. The final design of the 5 euro banknote will be unveiled on 10 January 2013.