Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union

The Belgian Presidency of the European Union and the earlier appointment of Herman Van Rompuy as the first permanent President of the European Council also means a new postage stamp.

Yesterday, De Post, now called bpost, issued this long-awaited special stamp. The Belgian postal service has a rich tradition in European stamps, which illustrate the key events in Europe’s process of rapprochement.

The new postage stamp bears the logo of our Presidency and President Herman Van Rompuy appears on the stamp sheet.

We known that the spirit of the European Union stands for the freedom of trade, but naturally, it also extends to the free trading of ideas, feelings and the written word. Postage stamps play an essential role here.

As Herman Van Rompuy so aptly put it: "A European stamp that is stuck very carefully on to the top right-hand corner of an envelope to send a letter – Europe cannot be closer to people than that".

Steven Vanackere