Euro banknotes a common theme of European architecture in various artistic eras. The obverse of the banknote features windows or gateways while the reverse bears different types of bridges. The architectural examples are stylised illustrations, not representations of existing monuments. All the notes of the initial series of euro notes bear the European flag, a map of the continent on the reverse, the name "euro" in both Latin and Greek script (EURO / ΕΥΡΩ) and the signature of a president of the ECB, depending on when the banknote was printed. The 12 stars from the flag are also incorporated into every note.
Euro banknotes the expansion of the European Union: every member of the EU is depicted on it. The initial series did not include the recent members Cyprus and Malta (Cyprus was off the map to the east and Malta was too small to be depicted.) The Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet features on the Europa series banknotes, as a result of Bulgaria joining the European Union in 2007. Thus this series includes "", which is the Bulgarian spelling for EURO, as well as the abbreviation "" (short for ' in Bulgarian). The new banknotes also feature the Maltese abbreviation BĊE ('), the Hungarian abbreviation