A theme for this year’s EUROPA stamp had in fact already been decided. In light of current events, however, it was changed to allow the new stamp issue to carry a message of peaceful coexistence. PostEurop, the association of the 48 major European postal operators, launched a competition inviting each member country to submit a design on the theme of peace and to choose three favourites from among all of the entries. The “Peace knot” design from Luxembourg received the most votes and is now being issued as a postage stamp by all affiliated postal organizations. It depicts interlocking hearts inspired by the Celtic love knot. The different colours stand for the nations of the world – united by the new peace symbol into a cooperative society in which people join hands to work together.

Swiss Post also submitted a design for the European vote. It had been chosen in an internal competition in the run-up to the international contest and is being published in Switzerland on a separate sheet, as an accompaniment to the Luxembourg stamp. It features the olive branch, a cross-cultural symbol of peace that goes back many centuries. The complementary colour composition of the hand-drawn illustration gives the branch a special vibrancy. The hands holding it aloft with their combined strength are an emblem of our collective effort to achieve a better world, and the stamp symbolizes the importance of peace as the highest value of humanity.