COVER N. 747 - SPAIN 

Postmark: Correos CTA Valencia 20.04.2026

Posted on the 8th July;  Received on the 10th July 2026

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Gosh, this one travelled fast. Moltes Gràcies, Eva. M'ha agradat molt la postal també. (And I hope Google got it right, though it does look the part, to me....)😉.

It is 70 years past the first Europa stamp issue, a decision taken in 1956 by the postal administrations of the countries partaking in the  European Coal and Steel Community, the embryonic pan-european organization that would later be subsumed into the EEC (1957), which in time (1993) would become the now existing European Union.

The Postal Services of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxemburg and the Netherlands, were thus the original six issuers of the first common Europa Issue, which highlighted the theme "Europe, Community of Interests and Objectives".

The issue shared a common layout, featuring a scaffolded tower constructed with the letters EUROPA, a symbolic way of portraying  European nations working together to build a shared future.

From 1960 on, the stamps would be issued under the auspices of the recently created European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations, and the stamps would then feature the legend  CEPT.

The practice of issuing a stamp with a common design, although printed in different colours, was carried on until 1973. 

From 1974 the common design stamp practice was abandoned in favour of a common theme, the participating postal administrations being free to design their own stamps.

With  the coordination of European postal policies having been removed from the scope of action of CEPT in 1993, a new organisation, PostEurope, was established to this end, and so, from 1993 on, all common themed issues would feature the EUROPA logo that is now in use.

As far as I can remember only in the year 2000 and 2023 (and quite justifiably so, for this particular issue, in my opinion) was the Common theme  abandoned in favour of a common design.

What was generally an exception became the norm again  this year with PostEurope organising a contest to chose a common design for the stamp celebrating the 70 years of EUROPA issues.

The winning design was the proposal presented by Posti (Finland), authored by Finnish designer Klaus Welp and accoding to the PostEurope Press Release presenting the results of the competition 

"The design of the 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.”

On her cover, Eva used this year's Spanish EUROPA issue  - a single tariff "B" (Europe) stamp issued by Correos de Espãna on 05MAY2026.

From a plastic point of view I don't dislike the winning artwork, which I find joyful and uplifting in all its colours and diagonals. Still, I  don't think that the symbology it purportedly affirms is readilly apparent to the viewer (at least I only was aware of it after reading the relesase notes). What I find absolutely boring is seeing it replicated over and over again, although many postal administrations took the opportunity to take an extra buck from the collector's purse by including their own design companion stamps or souvenir sheets in the issue.

Thankfully, next year we take to the ususal practice again with a theme that I am really looking forward to: Street Art... can't wait for it....

Eva's letter was written on the back of a very nice postcard with a photograph  by photographer and illustrator Erica Fustero, taken in Tokyo in 2028. 

The simplicity of the scene, evoking one of the little village shops of my youth that sold all that was needed and more,  is disarming, bathed in the warmness of the dominant colours, only to be disrupted by the outlandish appearance of the scales that take the place of the shop owner that somehow one would expect to be smiling at you from behind the counter.

Photography is really the art of seeing....