Faroe stamp 038 europe (provisional stamp 1919, overprint)

The Europa postage stamp (also known as Europa - CEPT until 1992) is an annual joint issue of stamps with a common design or theme by postal administrations of member countries of the European Communities (1956–1959), the

European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) was established on June 26, 1959, by nineteen European states in Montreux, Switzerland, as a coordinating body for European state telecommunications and postal ...

(CEPT) from 1960 to 1992, and the

PostEurop PostEurop is the association of European public postal operators, one of the constituent unions of the Universal Postal Union. PostEurop was created in 1993 to simplify the exchange of mails in Europe, a task previously undertaken by the European C ...

Association since 1993. Europe is the central theme. EUROPA stamps underlines cooperation in the posts domain, taking into account promotion of

philately Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is poss ...

. They also build awareness of the common roots, culture and history of Europe and its common goals. As such, EUROPA stamp issues are among the most collected and most popular stamps in the world. Since the first issue in 1956, EUROPA stamps have been a tangible symbol of Europe's desire for closer integration and cooperation.

History

From 1956 to 1993

The first Europa issue was on 15 September 1956. The postal administrations of the founding six members of the

European Coal and Steel Community The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to regulate the coal and steel industries. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembo ...

(ECSC) issued stamps with a common design: a tower made up of the letters of the word "EUROPA" and surrounded by construction scaffolding. In 1959, the

(CEPT) was formed, and from 1960 the initials "CEPT" were displayed on the joint issue stamps. The stamps had a common design from 1956 to 1973, (with the exception of 1957). However, many countries issued a stamp that did not feature the common pattern but just displayed the word "EUROPA". From 1974, the common design was replaced by stamps with different designs, but with a common theme. The success of Europa issues among collectors prompted many postal administrations of small countries or territories dependent of European countries (the Channel Islands for instance) to join the issuing countries in the 70s.

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

has issued Europa Stamps since 1966 (French) and 1972 (Spain). Andorra cannot Join PostEurop as its Postal System is looked after independently by both France and Spain. The

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

and

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

, Crown dependencies of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, first issued Europa stamps in 1976, with

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

following in 1978. The number of participants reached 35 in the 80s. Turkey participated continuously since 1960, and Yugoslavia from 1969. The collapse of the communist bloc in 1989–90 brought new issuers, reaching 57 countries in the late 90s.

Since 1993

When CEPT decided to focus more on telecommunications in 1993,

took over the management of the Europa issues. The CEPT logo was replaced by a new logo created by PostEurop, i.e. the word "EUROPA" leaning to the right. Although in 2006 the member countries of PostEurop chose the theme of "Integration as seen by young people" instead of a theme related to the 50th anniversary of Europa issues, several countries issued stamps showing the first common designs of the years 1950–1970. An anniversary logo (the number 50 in the middle of a star with 5 branches) is also featured on these stamps. In order to promote Europa issues among philatelists, PostEurop created in 2002 an annual competition of the “Best Europa stamp”. Since 2005, several non-European countries and non-PostEurop Members have issued stamps in connection with this anniversary. In Europe, some countries, including Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Armenia, Moldova, Gibraltar, Cyprus, etc. also participated in these issues. Until 2006, only representatives of the various postal administrations were entitled to elect the best Europa stamp during the Plenary Assembly of PostEurop, but since 2007, the winner is elected through an open and public voting procedure on the PostEurop website. From January 2011, the new EUROPA logo, preceded by a symbolic reminder of the mailbox, applies, and a Jury Prize Competition is designed by seven philatelic experts.

Common design issues (with the exception of 1957)

Common theme issues of CEPT (with the exception of 1984)

Common theme issues of PostEurop (with the exception of 2000 and 2016)

The list includes the jury and online competition winners since 2002 when the EUROPA stamp competition starte

References

Sources

Stanley Gibbons The Stanley Gibbons Group plc is a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange specialising in the retailing of collectable postage stamps and similar products. The group is incorporated in London. The company is a major stamp dealer and philat ...

Ltd: various catalogues
AskPhil – Glossary of Stamp Collecting Terms

* Stuart Rossiter & John Flower: ''The Stamp Atlas''
PostEurop's website

External links

CEPT. Conference of European Postal & Telecommunications

PostEurop Web site

SelloSpain.com: Spanish Europa issued stamps
(archived)
Europa stamps news and information blog

Philatelism.com: Europa stamps of Cyprus
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831131144/http://www.philatelism.com/searched.php?lstCountry=CY&txtTitle=Europa , date=2010-08-31 Postage stamps 1956 introductions