EUROPA – 70th Anniversary of Europa Stamps (C)

2026 marks the 70th anniversary of EUROPA Stamps, a philatelic initiative launched to foster stronger relationships among European countries and promote lasting peace and unity. First issued in 1956 by six nations—Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, the founding members of the European Union—this initiative has grown to include 53 participating postal organizations.

Over the decades, the EUROPA stamp project has united postal administrations, particularly through collaborative designs for milestone occasions, such as anniversaries or acts of solidarity. The initiative has inspired postal operators to celebrate Europe’s rich cultural heritage, creating timeless symbols of shared values and aspirations that continue to captivate new generations of collectors.

Last year, the PostEurop Stamps and Philately Working Group organized an internal competition to select a common design motif for the theme “70th Anniversary of the EUROPA Stamp: United in…”. Guided by shared values such as communication, innovation, cooperation, and common roots, members submitted 15 creative proposals, each presenting a unique vision. Postal operators were invited to vote on their favourite designs.

With votes from 50 postal organizations, the winner of the 2026 EUROPA stamp competition is Posti Ltd, Finland. The winning stamp design was created by Mr. Klaus Welp a visual artist with Finnish and German nationalities.

The design of the winning 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.

Croatian second stamp "Europa - United in Innovation" was designed by Croatian designer from Zagreb, Dean Roksandić. Croatian Post has chosen the theme “United in Innovation” based on the adopted policies and plans of the European Parliament (Innovation Policy). The emphasis is on joint European efforts to tackle global challenges such as climate change, health and energy security, etc., through innovative solutions.

The solution includes several examples of innovations which are now applied in most parts of Europe and intertwine with one another: the electric car, wind turbine, satellite and bionic industrial machine. The center of the graphic collage is a silhouette of a human head, while above it shines a lightbulb as a symbol of an idea, a “Eureka” moment. All innovations are connected by lines forming a closed circle to represent unity, intertwined with a few stars (symbolizing the EU). The choice of yellow and blue colors alludes to the European Union.

More about EUROPA Stamps
Since 1956, EUROPA stamps have been a symbol of Europe’s desire for closer integration and cooperation. These special stamps are issued by the European postal administrations/enterprises and bear the EUROPA logo, a PostEurop registered trademark. Since 1993, PostEurop has been the responsible organisation for issuing EUROPA stamps and each year, philately experts within the Stamps and Philately working group organise the competition amongst other philately initiatives. Croatian Post has been issuing Europa stamps since1993.

See more information on www.europastamps.eu

Source: PostEurop and Croatian Post