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PostEUROP – a bit of winter 2025 stamp news

by | Jan 29, 2025

Poking around the PostEUROP website seems to be a good way to spend a blustery, chilly winter day here in Canada. I peeked out the curtains and saw snow and decided nope, stamps it is. Yea, not a fan of slogging through the white stuff. 

The EUROPA 2024 winner 

This year 57 countries participated in the annual PostEUROP competition. Last year’s theme was Underwater Fauna & Flora, allowing each post office to showcase their country’s natural biodiversity.

By shedding light on the underwater world, this EUROPA stamp motif tried to emphasise the importance of preserving fragile marine ecosystems, which are vital to the planet’s overall health and sustainability.
The 2024 Most Beautiful EUROPA Stamp Competition winner is La Poste France, PHILAPOSTE – PostEurop

The three finalists were from France, Monaco, and Azerbaijan, with France’s Underwater Diversity taking top spot.

PostEUROPE
EUROPA: Underwater Fauna

This single stamp managed to capture a snapshot of the rich underwater coral reef on France’s coastline. Designer Faunesque (Phil Constantinesco)  wrote about the honour of designing the stamp. – A few weeks/months ago I had the pleasure of drawing again a stamp for La Poste in the Europa series on the theme of French underwater fauna and flora. What more can you ask for? I was immediately engulfed by the theme obviously!”

“With a presence in 4 of the world’s 5 oceans, and the 2nd largest maritime area in the world, France is committed to ensuring that the marine environment is in good condition, through international, European and national policies to preserve and restore biodiversity.…
…The splendor of gorgonian and coral forests should not blind us to the fact that 50% of coral reefs have disappeared in the last 30 years. Faced with an often endangered fauna, it’s more important than ever to take action”. © La Poste – Fabienne Azire – Tous droits réservés

Monaco’s Octopus and Azerbaijan’s Blue Whale were in 2nd and 3rd place:

Monaco
Octopus (Octopoda sp)
  Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) single stamp

A special award was made by the Dutch Underwater Federation (Nederlandse Onderwatersport Bond). They gave a special diploma to the Czech Post for their busy glimpse of a fresh water biome. Husband and wife design team Libuše and Jaromír Knotek highlighted at least 5 different animals species as well as insects and flowers in the tiny square. The Federation felt this stamp beautifully represented the diverse flora and fauna that can be found in fresh water. They further stated “The similarity between all the creatures visible on the stamp and the ones that exist in the Dutch waters, is big. Besides that, the stamp itself is full of detail of all the different plants, fish, reptiles and invertebrates shown on the stamp.”

Czech Republic 2024 underwater stamp

Underwater life does not consist of plants and fish only, but also of amphibians, reptiles and a great number of invertebrates. Among the fish, the designers chose the pike – the queen of the native ponds. They added the beautifully coloured perch. Amphibians are represented by the northern crested newt, and crustaceans by the narrow-clawed crayfish. The swan mussel, a typical inhabitant of the native ponds, and the great ramshorn, are members of the Bivalvia and Gastropoda class, respectively, whereas the great diving beetle represents water beetles. The flora is represented by the beauty of native ponds, the white water lily. 
Czech post office info page

Check out the entire year here.  

2025 competition is underway

The topic for  PostEUROP 2025 is “National Archaeological Discoveries”, something that should offer up fascinating history and cultural treasures. The stamps are coming in already so look for the annual article soon. It’ll be posted on the 2025 Country list page

This theme was originally planned for 2024, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine put a wrench in the plan. A special theme, PEACE the highest value of humanity, was organised instead. A common image was picked to signify unity. Neither Russia nor Belarus were allowed to participate, and haven’t since the invasion. A number of post offices included their own interpretations of Peace. You can see them here.

PostEUROP 2026 – EUROPA turns 70

The theme for 2026 will be a celebration of the 70th anniversary of EUROPA stamp. The Europa community will once again use a common design for this issue. On January 8th, the design was unveiled. 15 designs were submitted with Finland’s Klaus Welp complex design being picked.

EUROPA 2026 design

“In today’s turbulent world, there is an increasing need for peace, unity, and a strong community spirit, as well as reliable communication systems. A well-functioning national postal service is a fundamental pillar for democracies, providing security and connectivity for citizens. It was an honour to participate in this design competition and celebrate the 70th anniversary of PostEurop with this small piece of graphic art. As a designer, it is immensely gratifying to know that this stamp will be printed and published in so many European countries and shared across the globe.

At the start of the design process, I explored several visual concepts for the stamp. Together with Tommi Kantola, Design Manager at Posti, we refined one of these concepts into the final, winning proposal. With more than two decades of collaboration and over 120 stamp projects, our teamwork once again resulted in a successful outcome. 

The design of the 2026 EUROPA Stamp combines abstract and symbolic elements. The diagonally ascending dotted line represents both the perforation of a stamp and the progressive work of the PostEurop . The seven dots, connected by a straight line, symbolize seventy years of unified effort by postal operators across the continent. The blending gradients and dotted patterns in the background form a cohesive and vibrant surface, reflecting the joyful mix of colours from the European flag and symbolizing the unity of all member nations.”
Klaus Welp Posti, Finland Wins Design Competition – Marking EUROPA Stamp’s 70th Anniversary in 2026 – PostEurop

You can read more about Welp here WELP. He’s an accomplished artist in many fields – illustrations, photography, video and music. Oh and of course stamps. He has created a number of Finland’s striking stamps, including the 2015 Moomins pair and the kinetic 2022 The Finnish National Theatre 150th and the National Ballet 100th anniversary set.

Moomins from 2015 The Finnish National Theatre 150th and the National Ballet 100th anniversary stamps

 

And that wraps up January 2025. I’ll lurk around the EUROPA pages looking for little stamp news tidbits.

Enjoy
Catpaw

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