[seszett]

> how do the French feel about Cervantes vs. Victor Hugo?

I don't think anybody would mind since there's already Marie Curie, which is an obvious choice because she's both Polish and French. I don't know how the Polish take it but the French have no particular feelings about her being Polish as well.

[mytailorisrich]

You still need to tread carefully as @ncruses said. So not Marie Curie but Maria Skłodowska-Curie.

[ncruces]

Maria Skłodowska-Curie was very helpful, at trying to solve #2 and #5 countries (by population) in one stroke. Good that the big 5 EU countries were simple enough to cover.

But why are a Greek-American, and an - unknown to the majority of Europeans - Austrian in there?

How many counties more populous than Austria are unrepresented? Do all EU countries count, or just EZ? (Poland is not EZ, is represented, still complained)

It's an impossible list. Europeans don't necessarily have shared heroes, and if they did, some of these wouldn't be top 6.

[expedition32]

Heroes fought and died fighting countries that are in the EU today. Obviously you can't have them on the banknotes.

As for the smaller countries- well let's face it do you think anyone in Europe gives a shit about Dutch or Estonian history and culture? Its France and Germany all the way down I'm afraid. At least we still have the veto.

[ncruces]

Maybe your heroes did.

And no one gives a shit about the (18 million) Dutch, but we picked Bertha von Suttner.

[expedition32]

Yeah I am not a europhile who wants to deny the last 1000 years happened and start singing kumbaya. Want to know why? Because I don't believe it.