The euro symbol was created
by the European Commission as part of its communications work for the single currency. The
design had to satisfy three simple criteria:
• to be a highly recognisable symbol of Europe
• to be easy to write by hand
• to have an aesthetically pleasing design
Thirty or so drafts were drawn up internally. Of these, ten were
subject to a qualitative assessment by the general public. Two designs emerged from the
survey well ahead of the rest. It was from these two that the then President of the
Commission, Jacques Santer, and the European Commissioner in charge of the euro,
Yves-Thibault de Silguy, made their final choice. It was inspired by the Greek letter
epsilon, harking back to Classical times and the cradle of European civilisation. The
symbol also refers to the first letter of the word "Europe". The two parallel
lines indicate the stability of the euro (European Central Bank). |
