To mark the 30th anniversary of the EU flag, euro area countries are issuing a special commemorative coin to be chosen by citizens and residents of the euro area.
What is the theme of the coin competition and awareness campaign?
In June 2015 it will have been 30 years since the European Council adopted the European Flag as its official emblem and 60 years since its adoption by the Council of Europe. To celebrate this, all 19 euro-area Member States will issue a commemorative circulation coin in the second half of 2015, bearing a common design on the national side.
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN) is organising a competition to select the design.
The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) is the framework which ensures that euro coins and banknotes can circulate in a well-functioning market economy. While monetary policy is the key responsibility of the European Central Bank, the stability of the euro area economies very much depends on how governments coordinate their national economic policies. The European Commission monitors this coordination and provides economic recommendations to EU countries to ensure sound economic governance in the European Union.
In order to raise awareness and increase knowledge on this economic governance framework to a wider audience, DG ECFIN invites euro area citizens/residents who voted for the commemorative coin design to also take part in a quiz.
How will the winning design be selected?
Mints of Euro area countries have been invited by DG ECFIN to submit design proposals based on representations of the European Flag.
A professional jury consisting of two professional designers/artists, a representative of the Euro Coin Sub-Committee (ECSC) of the Economic and Financial Committee and two representatives of DG ECFIN will pre-select five designs on the basis of the criteria listed below. The five pre-selected designs will be published on this website.
The winning design will be selected by euro-area citizens and/or residents who are at least 12 years old by the end of 2015 via a vote on this web-site.
Envisaged criteria for selecting designs
- Relevance:
- The design should visualise the European Flag as a symbol not only of the European Union but also of Europe’s unity and identity in a wider sense. It should reflect the ideals of solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe.
- Visual impact:
- The beauty and creativity of the design.
- Appropriateness of the design for use on coins.
How will the quiz look like?
The subject of the quiz is a video released by DG ECFIN on its “European Economy Explained” portal. Three related multiple-choice questions will then be asked to participants plus a tiebreaker question (bonus question) that will help DG ECFIN to decide the winners.
Participating in the quiz is a prerequisite to win the prizes.
How can I participate?
Euro-area citizens and/or residents (that is to say you can be either a citizen of, or live in, an EU Member State whose currency is the euro to participate in the vote) who are at least 12 years old by the end of 2015 can take part in the vote and the quiz.
The following 19 EU Member State have the euro as their currency and form the euro area: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
You will be able to vote by ticking the coin of your choice. You will then be asked to confirm your vote by indicating your e-mail address, and choose from a drop-down list of euro-area countries your country of nationality or residence.
Right after the voting, the voters will be invited to take part in a short quiz on EMU.
For participants who have voted but who have not participated to the quiz, a reminder will be sent one week before the closure of the competition inviting them to take part in the quiz.
The staff and the families of those involved in the creation and pre-selection of designs may neither take part in the vote nor in the quiz. This includes the staff of the Tipik Consortium and their families, the staff of national mints in the euro area and their families, the staff of DG ECFIN.R1 and DG ECFIN.DDG2.01 and their families as well as all members of the pre-selection jury and their families.
Each person may only take part in the vote and quiz once.
The vote and quiz will be closed on Sunday 27 May 2015 at 4 pm.
How can I win?
Submission of designs has been restricted to euro area mints.
For participants to the vote and the quiz, 3 conditions must be met to win one of the 56 prizes:
- Having voted for the winning coin,
- Having answered the 3 questions of the quiz correctly,
- Having provided the closest answer to the tiebreaker question (i.e. number of votes for the winning coin).
Should none of the voters for the winning coin have answered the 3 questions of the quiz correctly, only the 1st and 3rd conditions will be applied for the award of prizes.
What are the prizes?
For the creator of the winning design: two-person trip to Milan on 27-28 June 2015, i.e. to the city where, almost exactly 30 years ago, the European Council adopted the European Flag as official EU emblem.
For participants in the vote and the quiz:
1st prize: Trip to the city of an EU Member State whose currency is the euro (with an international airport) of a value of 2000€.
2nd – 6th prize: Personalised iPad Air 64Go
7th – 56th prize: Portable battery chargers for smartphones
When will the winners be selected
The creator of the winning design will be announced on 28 May 2015.
The winners of the prizes will be informed within 10 days after the closure of the competition.
The results of the competition process and the winning design will be certified by a notarius publicus.
DG ECFIN will request verification of citizenship, residence and age before prizes are awarded.
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