Didier Reynders and Olivier Chastel mint the first €2 coin to commemorate the Belgian Presidency of the EU
At the Royal Mint on Tuesday, 1 June, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Didier Reynders and Secretary of State for European Affairs Olivier Chastel minted the first €2 coin to commemorate the Belgian Presidency of the European Union. Didier Reynders and Olivier Chastel were joined for the occasion by ambassadors and representatives of the 27 Member States.
In 2003, the European Commission ruled that, under certain conditions, commemorative coins could be issued as fully legal tender. The coin presented on 1 June is already the 7th commemorative €2 coin issued by Belgium. Unlike commemorative coins in gold and silver, which are only legal tender in the country of issue, this €2 coin can be used as legal tender throughout the euro area.
As Secretary of State Olivier Chastel explained, “the logo on the commemorative coins was selected in a competition between Art and Design students from Spain, Belgium and Hungary, the aim being to select the project which best symbolized cooperation and cohesion between the citizens of Europe.”
The Secretary of State for European Affairs assured the representatives of the 26 other Member States of the EU that the Belgian Presidency would ensure that specific results were achieved which met the expectations of European citizens. He insisted that the commemoration on 1 June symbolized this objective perfectly: “the euro, the most tangible realization of recent years for our citizens, is going through a period of crisis and, by stamping it with its logo, the future Belgian Presidency is affirming loud and clear that it has no doubts as to either its usefulness or its sustainability.”
