Webinar: 20 years of euro banknotes and coins

The Central Bank of Malta (Bank) organized a webinar entitled “20 Years of Euro Banknotes and Coins” on 17March 2022. This webinar was organized as part of the Bank’s celebrations of the 20^th anniversary of the Euro banknotes and coins.

The opening address was delivered by the Bank’s Governor, Professor Edward Scicluna. He pointed out the importance of the euro in the European integration process. He also cited the steps that need to be tackled to complete the monetary union. He considered that future challenges for the Eurosystem would include climate change and the Digital Euro project.

The webinar’s first presentation was delivered by Ms Elaine Lenzo, Senior Officer Research and Education at the Bank’s Currency Operations Office. In her presentation entitled “Advantages of euro cash and what lies ahead for the single currency”, Ms Lenzo explained the timeline of the European currency and examined its advantages. She also delved into the Euro cash strategy and cycle. Finally, she analyzed the future of the common currency – the digital euro. She explained that the decision on whether to develop a digital Euro will be taken on the basis of the outcome of the investigation phase that the Eurosystem is currently undertaking.

A presentation entitled “The international role of the euro” was delivered by Mr Gilles Noblet, Principal Advisor at the European Central Bank’s Directorate General International and European Relations. Mr Noblet stated that the euro has risen as an international currency and remains the second most important currency globally. He pointed out that EU and European Central Bank (ECB) policy responses supported the international role of the euro. Furthermore, he said that a deeper and more complete Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) will strengthen further the international role of the euro.

Mr John Caruana, Head Monetary Policy, Eurosystem and International Relations Department at the Bank delivered a presentation entitled “Monetary policy in the euro area 1999-2021”. He examined the events that effected monetary policy since its inception including the financial crisis that led the ECB to use forward guidance, asset purchases, long-term financing operations and other tools to compliment interest rates.

At the end of the webinar, the attendees had the opportunity to ask questions to the speakers.