The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, and the President of the Spanish Postal Services, Juan Manuel Serrano, have presented the stamp which commemorates the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which takes place during the second half of 2023, at the Ministry's headquarters in Madrid.
At the event in which the stamp was made public, the minister emphasised that Correos, Spain's largest public company, has been adapting to change over the last three centuries and bringing millions of households in our country closer together.
"If there is one thing we associate with the commemoration of historical events, it is philately. The history of Spain is inseparable from the history of the Correos stamps, which so many families treasure in their homes. In this historical semester, the Correos stamp brings Europe closer to all Spaniards in the form of a logo designed under the belief that the European project is an integral part of our identity as Spaniards", said Albares.
Meanwhile, Correos' President, Juan Manuel Serrano, emphasised that the stamp, as well as being a means of dissemination, also bears witness to history and current affairs, and that with the issue of this series the Spanish Presidency of the EU will be reflected in the historic philately records of our country.
"Spain has already presided over the Council of the European Union on four other occasions, the most recent having been in 2010, and in all of these Correos has been present with the issue of a commemorative stamp, and this time it could not have been any otherwise. The stamp, as well as being a means of postage, is an unrivalled medium for the transmission between generations of historical facts and outstanding events, of the culture and values of a country and a territory such as that of the European Union", said Juan Manuel Serrano.
The stamp, of legal tender, gummed and phosphorescent, with a vertical format, is priced at 2 euros and can now be purchased at the Spanish Post Offices as well as through the Philatelic Services.
Technical features of the stamp
• Printing process: offset
• Backing: coated, gummed, phosphorescent
• Stamp perforation: 13 ¾ (horizontal) and 13 ¼ (vertical)
• Stamp format: 29 × 52 mm (vertical)
• Block sheet format: 79.2 × 105 mm (vertical)
• Sheet format: Block sheet with 1 stamp
• Postal value of stamp: 2 €
• Print issue: 90,000 block sheets