The European Central Bank (ECB) presented this Thursday a list of 10 proposals for new designs for euro banknotes. The institution hopes to choose the winning model by the end of the year, as part of a project to launch more secure banknotes. The 10 finalist options, divided between the themes "European culture" and "Rivers and birds", will be submitted to a public consultation. Europeans will be able to submit their opinions until September 21, ECB President Christine Lagarde said. Among the personalities portrayed in the proposals are Marie Sk?odowska Curie, the only scientist to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry, the composer Ludwig van Beethoven and the artist Leonardo da Vinci. The second set of proposals highlights birds such as the kingfisher and the white stork, the ECB said. This will be the first complete redesign of euro banknotes since the currency's launch in 2002. The back of the new banknotes will feature scenes from nature or public life linked to themes such as art, science and leisure. The ECB stated that it will take several years between the choice of the final design and the new banknotes entering circulation, due to the development and testing stages. Current banknotes will remain valid and will circulate normally along with the new series.