Designed by Agnieszka Sobczyńska, the stamp features the number “30”, a direct reference to the anniversary of the V4’s establishment, and four shapes moving in tandem, symbolizing the four separate, independent countries that make up the alliance. Along with the stamp, the Polish Post issued a limited edition of the First Day Cover (FDC) envelope, featuring the flags of each V4 country and the Polish presidency’s logo.

“The geopolitical situation in Central Europe has never been unidimensional. As early as the Middle Ages, monarchs organised a congress at Visegrad where they agreed on policies to be implemented in the region. Current cooperation within the V4 and the effectiveness of joint political and economic measures have made the Visegrad Group’s voice even more audible across Europe. Our company is proud to commemorate with this stamp the establishment of the Visegrad Group 30 years ago,” noted Tomasz Zdzikot, president of the board of Polish Post.

 “The stamp issue to honour the anniversary of the establishment of the Visegrad Group coincides with the Polish presidency of the V4. It matters to the Polish Post that this joint issue came into existence in the studio of a Polish designer and was accepted by postal operators of the other V4 countries. Through this design, we express not only the V4’s common aims, aspirations, and efforts, but also provide apt summary of our achievements in neighbourly cooperation to date,” said Wiesław Włodek, vice-president of the Polish Post management board.

The Visegrad Group is an informal regional format of cooperation between four Central European countries – Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. They are bound not only by a shared neighbourhood and similar geopolitical conditions, but above all by common history, tradition, culture, and values. The original idea behind the V4 was to intensify cooperation in building democratic state structures, a free market economy, and, in the long run, joint participation in the process of European integration.

“During its presidency, Poland is striving to ensure that the concerted actions of the Visegrad Group countries bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects, that people-to-people contacts strengthen our societies through the implementation of joint projects. The postage stamp is a small example of the many opportunities to combine the potential of our nations, and an excellent opportunity to promote unity and integration through dialogue and mutual understanding,” underlined Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Press Office 

Photo: Gabriel Piętka / MFA