The proposed designs for the next generation of euro banknotes are ugly, forgettable and irrelevant. So, you might say that they’re a worthy currency for a continent that has lost its way and doesn’t remember what made it great.

Where to begin? The notes under the “European Culture” umbrella feature historical personages who will go unrecognised by the vast majority of the EU’s 350 million or so people who live in a country using the euro. They are: soprano Maria Callas (€5); composer Ludwig van Beethoven (€10); scientist Marie Skłodowska-Curie (€20); author Miguel de Cervantes (€50); polymath Leonardo da Vinci (€100); and noblewoman and peace activist Bertha von Suttner (€200).

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