Europa 2023: Gibraltar (30 March)

On 30 March, Gibraltar’s Post Office became the first entity to release their Europa 2023 issue which consisted of two designs each in sheets of 10 and included in a miniature sheet consisting of both stamps. The non-common design stamp and miniature sheet, first day covers, etc. were designed by Stephen Perera. The promotional material explains the background of Europa stamps and defines Peace:

EUROPA stamps are special stamps issued by European postal administrations. They bear the official EUROPA logo, a PostEurop registered trademark under the aegis of PostEurop in which Europe is the central theme. EUROPA stamp issues are among the most collected and most popular stamps in the world and have been issued for over 60 years. Every year a new theme is assigned by PostEurop and all participating countries issue stamps with their own interpretation of the theme. The theme for 2023 is ‘Peace – the highest value of humanity.’

Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. Throughout history, leaders have used peacemaking and diplomacy to establish a type of behavioral restraint that has resulted in the establishment of regional peace or economic growth through various forms of agreements or peace treaties. Such behavioral restraint has often resulted in the reduced conflict, greater economic interactivity, and consequently substantial prosperity.

Technical Information

Date of Issue:	30 March 2023
Number of Stamps:	2 gummed stamps, 1 miniature sheet of 2 stamps
Denomination:	`£1.96, £3.16`
Designers:	Linda Bos & Runa Egilsdottir (Europa); Stephen Perera (Peace)
Printer and Process:	bpost Stamps Factory, Malines, Belgium by offset lithography
Stamp Size:	40mm x 30mm
Sheet Layout:	10 stamps per sheet each design; miniature sheet of 2 (1 of each design)