#Romania2019.eu/Romfilatelia's postage stamp issue "Romania's Presidency of the Council of the European Union" available as of Friday

The postage stamp issue called "Romania's Presidency of the Council of the European Union" will be introduced into circulation as of Friday in the Romfilatelia shops of Bucharest, Bacau, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Timisoara, as well as on the online philatelic shop http://romfilatelia.ro/store/.

According to a Romfilatelia release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday, the postage stamp issue is dedicated to Romania's taking over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

On the stamp of the issue with the face value of 5 lei there is illustrated the logo of Romania's Presidency of the Council of the European Union, resulting following a creative contest won by Ioan Dobrinescu, a 9th grade pupil of the "Ion Luca Caragiale" National College in Bucharest.

The logo depicts a moving European Union, self-confident, dynamic, but also attached to its values. The European Union was illustrated through a wolf, an animal present in the mythologies of major European cultures. In addition, the drawing illustrates a European Union that affirms its attachment to biodiversity protection, the quoted source showed.

The issue is completed with "the first day" postmark and with the page composition in sheet of 30 stamps, minisheet of 10 stamps + 5 labels.

Romania started its journey towards the European Union on 1 February 1993, when Romania's Association Agreement was signed. Romania officially applied for membership to the European Union in June 1995 and in December 1999, the European Council decided to open the accession negotiations with Romania, alongside six other countries.

On 25 April 2005 in Luxembourg the Treaty of Romania's and Bulgaria's accession to the European Union was signed by the two states and by the representatives of the member states of the European Union.

Between 1 January and 30 June 2019, Romania is in charge, for the first time, of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This mandate rotates among the member states of the European Union every six months.

In view of providing continuity to the activities of the European Union Council for a longer period of time, the member states holding the Presidency work together, in groups of three, called Trios. This system was introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon, in 2009. Romania will open the Trio of Presidencies that also includes Finland and Croatia.

The motto of the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council "Cohesion, a common European value" represents a clear message of support for the cohesion of the European family, as well as for the policies which stimulate economic, social and territorial convergence. AGERPRES (RO - author: Petronius Craiu, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Rodica State, editor: Adina Panaitescu)