JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 Issue # 443

IT’S DUES TIME. PLEASE USE THE INSERT AND KEEP YOUR MEMBERSHIP CURRENT! JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-2 New Issues Europa 2018 "Bridges"

BELGIUM ss FAROE IS. 2v + 2v self-adhesive

Issue date 11 June 2018 Issue date 23 April 2018

The Faroe Islands are an archipelago between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland,. Infrastructure on the islands has been developed extensively and some 80 per- cent of the population is connected by tunnels through the mountains between the islands, bridges and causeways.

Streymin Bridge connects the two biggest and most populous islands of Streymoy to the One of the most prestigious vestiges of the me- west and dieval military architecture of Belgium, the Tour- Eysturoy to the east. nai Hole Bridge — aka the Bridge of Holes — is Crossing the Sundini a 13th century construct spanning the Scheldt in sound at its narrow- Tournai, Belgium. The tower on the left bank est point, it is jokingly referred to as the 'Bridge (Bourdiel) was built in 1281, while the right bank over the Atlantic', being the only inter-island tower (Thieulerie) dates from 1304. The towers bridge in the Faroe Islands and one of the few are flat on the city side and rounded towards the such bridges in the Atlantic Ocean. countryside to better resist cannonballs! — from Wikipedia

At the beginning of the Second World War , the central arch was dynamited. During the recon- The bridge over struction of the bridge, it was raised 2.40 m (less Sanda is a 140 m than 8 ft.) to allow passage of newer, i.e. larger, long road structure barges. A new project is being considered to located between widen or remove the central arch to allow still the cities of more river traffic. Understandably, that is meet- Torshavn and Argir ing with considerable resistance. on the largest island — from Wikipedia and Medievalists.net called Streymoy. Sleek V-type piers, well-balanced proportions of spans, and its deck make the bridge perfectly fit into the beautiful landscape. — from Mageba Engineering FINLAND 2v self-adhesive

Issue date 9 May 2018

Picturesque rural scenery, showing a traditional wooden vehicle bridge, seemingly for farm use, and a wooden footbridge spanning typical Finnish countryside.

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-3 New Issues Europa 2018 "Bridges"

ICELAND 2v self-adhesive GERMANY 1v in a ms of 10 stamps

Issue date 3 May 2018 Issue date 15 February 2018

The Red Pyramids, a pair of pedestrian and bicycle bridges span the river Elliðaár in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, cre- ating an eye-catching and minimal silhou- ette embedded with LEDs.

Jökulsárlón Bridge is a one-lane suspen- The Rhine Knee (Rheinknie) Bridge in Düsseldorf sion bridge over a is a cable-stayed bridge over the Rhine river that large glacial lagoon opened to traffic in 1969. The name derives from considered one of the position of the bridge on a narrow curve of Iceland’snatural won- the river. Seen from the air, this section of the ders. The bridge Rhine looks like a human knee. forms part of the — from Wikipedia Route 1 “Ring Road” around Iceland. — from “Come to Iceland” and Wikipedia

ALAND 1v

Issue date 9 May 2018

Bomarsund Bridge, built in 1958, crosses the channel between the village of Bomarsund and the island of Prästö. As a segue from last year’s theme, it might be noted that at Bomarsund sits the ruins of Bomarsund fortress, built in 1832 and destroyed during the Crimean war of 1854. — from Wikipedia

The image at left caught my eye immediately. During the day the Bomarsund Bridge is not particularly eye-catching, but night time is a different story. This is a view of the Milky Way from just under the bridge approach. JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-4 New Issues New Issues Europa 2017 "Castles" sepac 2018 “Spectacular Views” ALBANIA 1v + 2ss

Issue date ALAND 1v

18 November 2017 Issue date

The first souvenir 9 May 2018 sheet is shown below:

A beautiful seascape by famous landscape pho- tographer Nicklas Nordlund.

ICELAND 1v

Issue date 13 September 2018

The second souvenir sheet is issued in a booklet, for which the booklet cover and ss are shown: :

Vestrahorn, sometimes called Vesturhorn, is a dramatic spot where vertiginous cliffs meet a flat black sand beach. Sometimes called Batman Mountain, Vestrahorn is 454 m (1490 ft.) high, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and part of the headland of Stokksnes. The shore features stun- ning lava dunes that are constantly being shaped by the natural forces of water and wind. — from the Pandotrip and ZigZag-On-Earth websites

All the stamp designs are identical, and picture the ruins of Berat Castle, locally known as the Kala, most of which was built in the 13th century, although its origins date back to the 4th century BC. The citadel area numbers many Byzantine churches, mainly from the 13th century, as well as several mosques built under the Ottoman era which began in 1417. — from whc.UNESCO.org visit sepacstamps.eu JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-5 New Issues New Issues NORDEN 2018 European Philatelic Exhibitions

“Fishes” DENMARK 3v FRAMA self-adhesive stamps

Issue date DENMARK ss ??.??.2017 Issue date 17 May 2018 NORDIA 2017 Stamp Exhibi- tion

A pike and a perch, two freshwater fish that are found in numerous Danish lakes and watercours- es. The images of the fish on the minisheet are shown in the same size ratio as in real life. — from Postnord website Common Flora

ALAND 1v ESTONIA 2v ROMANIA 2v Issue date 13 March 2018 Issue date Atlantic salmon 24 No- vember 2017

“Forest Gold” ICELAND 1v

Issue date Joint 13 September 2018 Issue

Capelin and Atlantic mackerel Designs are identical from both countries, except the positions of the flags at the bottom are re- versed.

Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) is a deciduous tree that grows in the hilly and mountainous selvedg- es throughout Europe, from Estonia in the Baltics to western Siberia.

Spruce (Picea abies) is found in Romania in the mountain and subalpine regions, where they Yes, it’s that time of the year again. form pure forests (spruce forests) or mixed Why not start the New Year by sending in woods with beech and fir. In Estonia, it occupies your dues payment now? You will be helping the third place as a tree species, after pine and to make our treasurer very happy. birch trees. — from Romfilatelia JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-6 New Issues EuroMed 2017 “Trees of the Mediterranean”

CYPRUS 1v printed in MALTA 2v ms of 8v Issue date 10 July 2017

Issue date 10 July 2017

Thousands of years ago, Cyprus was famous for the abundance of its trees, which were cut for copper casting and ship- building. In 1992, the Araar (Tetraclinis articulata) was se- lected as Malta's national tree. This tree is known The Mediterranean region hosts a wide variety of to grow in just two European countries, namely fruit trees, such as carob, olive and orange. The Malta and southern Spain and also grows in cer- olive tree can live thousands of years. Other tain areas of North Africa. common trees of the Mediterranean are pine trees, palm trees and cedar trees. Its name originates from the Arab word Araar, similar to gharghar in Maltese meaning The stamp depicts a complex tree showing the floods. This is probably due to the fact that as leaves of olive and pine trees and the fruits of soon as the first rains fall, the tree's seeds quickly carob tree and orange. germinate and grow. — from Cyprus Post The Araar tree is highly suited to Malta's dry cli- JORDAN 2v mate as it is resistant to drought. It can reach as high (almost 50 feet) but generally is much Issue date 10 July 2017 shorter due to the low soil levels and rocky areas on which it grows. — from Malta Post

TUNISIA 2v

Issue date 10 July 2017

Spanish Fir Turkey Oak The ubiquitous olive tree

The EuroMed Postal Group has established a very nice little website which provides an inventory, with illustrations, of all the EuroMed stamps for any particular year. The URL is euromed-postal.org/stamps.php.

It also lists the upcoming stamp themes, which are: 2018: Houses in the Mediterranean 2019: Costumes used in the Mediterranean JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-7

Article EUROPA Censures — Laurent Villoing, Haim Bassan

In the last issue (see Editor’s Page: EN# 442-19) we reported that Laurent Villoing had a very successful exhibition of his material, showing different parts of his collection to many different stamp clubs in the Sydney Australia area.

One of our readers — Haim Bas- san — got in touch with Lau- rent to compare notes. The result is this delightful bit of EUROPA history, told phil- atelically. Here- with is their exchange:

[Laurent Villoing] “Hello Haim, I am a little younger than you (53 yrs. old this year) and have been collecting Europa stamps for 45 of those years (started at age 8) !

“My collection of the official Euro- pa stamps is complete to 2016 (working on 2017 issues currently having about 60% of them).

“But I also have a HUGE side collection including special use of Eu- ropa stamps and EUROPA related postcard - covers - phonecard - maxi cards and much more …

Laurent’s presentation begins with this panel ——————————>: JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-8

Article EUROPA Censures — cont’d

“One of my favorite sections is that of special Europa mail which for some reason got CENSORED.

“Such mail bearing Europa stamps is VERY rare and generally pretty scarce, but over the years I have been able to get a few such items which I have scanned and enclosed to you with this Email.”

The somewhat incendiary car- toon balloons (mild by to- day’s stand- ards, perhaps) read:

”to the corpo- rate health of our compa- nies”

“at the closure of our facto- ries”

“firing thousands of em- ployees”

“to our mis- takes! our in- competence! to our mess!”

“thanks to which we have never made so much profit.”

For some reason this message seemed to annoy the censors. JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-9

Article EUROPA Censures — cont’d

Censored covers tend to be very busy, adding to their interest and visual appeal. JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-10

Article EUROPA Censures — cont’d

Some incredible pieces of history! JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-11

Article EUROPA Censures — cont’d

[Haim Bassan] “Hello Laurent, thank you for your quick email. “I have collected stamps from the age of 9 and began collecting Europa stamps from the age of 11, it is to say 60 years ago. My first exhibition of Europa stamps was as a teenager in May of 1963. It was the youth philately exhibition TABIN that was held in Jerusalem and I also won a third prize and a trophy. From that year onward I have been working to complete my Europa collections [mint, used, fdc, minisheets and postmarks]. In the last years I still have many gaps and from some countries it is very difficult and very costly to get the Europa stamps from them.

“I find your small collection of Europa CENSORED covers very interesting. In the attached scans (see below) you can see a cover that belongs to this family of collection.

“It is with registration label, an Air Mail cover sent from London w.c.92 post office branch to Jerusalem Israel. The cover has 6 Europa stamps of the 1961 issue. The letter was opened in the left side by the Is- is the first letter י where “יraeli postal authority in Jerusalem, as evidenced by the censor strip mark “1003 of Jerusalem in Hebrew. On the back of the cover there are 2 rectangular postmarks reading in Hebrew “POST OFFICE – STAMPS IMPORT EXPORT". In the early days of the 60's there were strict regulations on foreign currency and other valuable items including import and export of stamps. After opening the envelope there is hand writing in blue ink above the one of the postmarks. It says "released,” which is to say that the letter can be forward to the final address – see the third scan.

“Here below is another interesting censored "Europa" Envelope. It was sent Air Mail from ‘SAARLAND’ dated 3 May 1958 to Jerusalem Israel. It arrived in Jerusalem on 6 May 1958, as can be seen from the round black postmark at the back of the envelope.

“The envelope has 6 stamps from this region. One of the stamps is the lower value of ‘Europa 1957’ from Saar. The envelope was opened at the left side, as can be seen clearly from its back – "OPENED BY THE CENSOR in big red Hebrew letters. Probably it was opened by the censor because it came from a strange region with many stamps on the back and maybe with stamps inside the envelope (the addressee was a stamp collector). After opening the envelope the censor applied a square blue postmark which reads in Hebrew ‘APPROVED BY CENSOR’.”

As editor, I found this exchange fascinating, and I look forward to more of same in the future. Thanks guys!! ▬ JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-12 New Issues European Anniversaries and Events

BULGARIA 1v BELARUS ss

Issue date 1 November 2017 Issue date 9 November 2017

First Bulgarian Presidency Diplomatic Relations between Belarus and of the Council of the EU Romania

The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union, the upper house of the EU legislature. It rotates among the BELARUS member states of the EU every six months. 1v in a ms of 8

The presidency is not an individual, but rather Issue date the position is held by a national government. It 19 November 2017 is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the President of the European Union. The presidency's function is to chair meetings of the Council, determine its agendas, set a work pro- Diplomatic Relations between Belarus and gram and facilitate dialogue both at Council Moldova meetings and with other EU institutions.

Three successive presidencies are known as presidency trios. The current trio (2017-18) is made up of Estonia (Jul-Dec 2017), Bulgaria (Jan- Jun 2018) and Austria (Jul-Dec 2018). — from Wikipedia

SERBIA 1v issued in a ms of 8 with 7 labels (see picture to the right)

Issue date 1 September 2017

Joy of Europe Festival

“Joy of Europe” is the largest and oldest inter- national manifestation of children's creativity, established back in 1969, on the occasion of World Children’s Day. In the beginning of Octo- ber, Belgrade welcomes children from many countries of Europe to make friends and have a good time. — from the Joy of Europe website JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-13 New Issues European Anniversaries and Events

ARMENIA ss KAZAKHSTAN 1v RUSSIA Issue date Issue date 21 November 2017 16 September 2017

25 Years Armenia-Russia Diplomatic Relations Diplomatic Rela- tions with Belarus

Joint Issue with Bel- arus

The Belarus issue was reported in EN# 442-11.

MALDIVE IS. 1 ss from a set of 2 Issue date 14 June 2017

Greatest Space Explorations — Cassini-Huygens

KYRGYSTAN ss Issue date 21 October 2017

25th Anniversary of the Collective Security The stamp in the upper right corner of the sou-

Treaty Organization (CSTO) venir sheet depicts the Cassini-Huygens Space Probe, a collaboration between NASA, the Euro- pean Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), to send a probe to study the plan- et Saturn and its system, including its rings and natural satellites. The unmanned robotic space- craft comprised both NASA's Cassini probe, and ESA's Huygens lander which would be landed on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Launched in 1997, Cassini was active in space for nearly 20 years, one of the most successful space probes ever (it was designed to last just four years). In 1992, six post-Soviet states belonging to The Huygens module traveled with Cassini until the Commonwealth of Independent States— it was landed by parachute on Titan on 14 Janu- Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajiki- ary 2005. It returned data to Earth for around 90 stan, and Uzbekistan—signed the Collective Se- minutes, using the orbiter as a relay. This was the curity Treaty (also referred to as the "Tashkent first landing ever accomplished in the outer Solar Pact”). Three other post-Soviet states— System and the first landing on a moon other Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Georgia—signed the than our own. next year and the treaty took effect in 1994. Since then, three members — Azerbaijan, Geor- Cassini-Huygens has been described gia and Uzbekistan — have dropped out. An ob- by NASA's Planetary Science Division Director as vious response to NATO’s expansion, signatories a "mission of firsts" that has revolutionized hu- are not be able to join other military alliances or man understanding of the Saturn system, includ- other groups of states. So, an interesting coun- ing its moons and rings, and our understanding terpoint to a NATO collection of where life might be found in the Solar System. JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-14 Article European Year of Cultural Heritage

With 2018, the tradition of designating Through cherishing our cultural heritage, we can “European Year of ….” resumes with the theme of discover our diversity and start an inter-cultural cultural heritage. From the EU website comes conversation about what we have in common. So this description of the upcoming year: what better way to enrich our lives than by inter- acting with something so central to who we are? Cultural heritage has a universal value for us as individuals, communities and societies. It is im- At the European level, all EU institutions are portant to preserve and pass on to future gener- committed to making the year a success. ations. Rather than just being ‘from the past’ or The European Commission, the European Parlia- static, it actually evolves though our engagement ment and the Council of the European Union, as with it. What is more, our heritage has a big role well as the Committee of the Regions and to play in building the future of Europe. That is the European Economic and Social Commit- one reason why we want to reach out to young tee, will organize events to celebrate the year people in particular during the European Year. and launch activities focusing on cultural heritage. Cultural heritage comes in many shapes and forms. In addition, the EU will fund projects supporting • tangible – for example buildings, monuments, cultural heritage. A dedicated call for coopera- artefacts, clothing, artwork, books, machines, tion projects relating to the year has been historic towns, archaeological sites. launched under the Creative Europe program. A • intangible – practices, representations, expres- wealth of additional opportunities will be availa- sions, knowledge, skills - and the associated ble under Erasmus+, Europe for Citizens, Horizon instruments, objects and cultural spaces - that 2020, and other EU programs.

people value. This includes language and oral In collaboration with the Council of Europe, traditions, performing arts, social practices and UNESCO, and other partners, the European Com- traditional craftsmanship. mission will be running ten long-term impact • natural – landscapes, flora and fauna. projects, such as innovative solutions for re- • digital – resources that were created in digital using heritage buildings or the fight against illicit form (for example digital art or animation) or trafficking of cultural goods. that have been digitalized as a way to preserve So we’ll be on the lookout for philatelic recogni- them (including text, images, video, records). tion of this important theme. JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-15 Article European Year of Cultural Heritage

This next issue looks like it relates to the theme. Another recurring theme that ties in very much It is from GREECE, and consists of two souvenir with this one is the assignment of important Eu- sheets and three single stamps with the same ropean cities as European Capitals of Culture. images as are on the sheets. This has been going on for some years now, and is promoted by the European Commission.

Leeuwarden in the northern Netherlands and Malta's capital Valletta are the European Cultural Capitals of 2018. Valetta was just recently high- lighted on issues by France (EN# 440-17) and Macedonia (EN#440-16).

The folks at Grenzenloos noted that these cities have also been promoted by their native countries.

Malta issued a souvenir sheet in 1998, Scott # 939, high- lighting the city of Valetta as part of a “Treasures of Malta” set.

In a similar vein, the Netherlands featured Leeu- warden as part of an ongoing tourism series pro- moting “Beautiful Netherlands.”

As a single stamp it is Scott# 1352.

A very nice auxiliary collection could be assem- This is all the information I have at this time. The bled of these European Culture capitals. The images are from a dealer’s website, where it is concept celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2015, said that the souvenir sheets are sold as part of a so there is a lot of material out there. ▬ folder. They have not yet been posted on Hel- lenic Post.

Yes, it’s dues time again. If you haven’t already done so, please take a moment to fill in the form attached with this newsletter and send us your check. We appreciate all the support you’ve given us in the past and hope you will continue. JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-16 NEW ISSUES with Scott catalog numbers - Don Smith From Linn’s November and December Special Editions

• = position in proposed new HB outline

COUNTRY SCOTT # DATE OF ISSUE DESCRIPTION *

Aland 394 9-May-17 Europa 2017 1 Aland 395 24-May-17 Friendship with Finland 100 years EN 437-5 3b Aland 396-7 24-May-17 Sauna Traditions, joint issue w/Finland in ss of 2 EN 441-7 1b Aland 398 17-Aug-17 Sepac 2017 EN 437-4 1c Armenia 1105 10-Jul-17 Europa 2017 1 Austria 2690 25-Aug-17 Austro-Hungarian Empire, joint w/Hungary 4441 EN 441-9 3b Cyprus (Turkish) 808-9 11-May-17 Europa 2017 1 Finland 1498 28-Apr-15 Eurovision Song Contest 3a Greece 2792 18-May-17 Europa 2017, se-tenant pair from booklet of 2 pairs 1 Greece 2793 27-Jun-17 EuroMed in ss of 1 EN 442-8 1d Hungary 4441 25-Aug-17 Austro-Hungarian Empire, joint w/Austria 2690 EN 441-9 3b Ireland 2146-7 4-May-17 Europa 2017 1 Luxembourg 1469 4-Jul-17 Tour de France race EN 441-9 3c Luxembourg 1470 25-Aug-17 Multilateral Philatelic Exhibition, joint w/Netherlands 3b EN 441-8 Luxembourg 1472 19-Sep-17 Sepac 2017 EN 441-5 1c Malta 1599-1600 10-Jul-17 EuroMed 1d Moldova 941 28-Apr-17 Europa 2017 (941a ss of 4) 1 Russia 7843 1-Sep-17 Normandy-Niemen Regiment, joint issue w/France 3b EN 442-15 Serbia 784-5 9-May-17 Europa 2017 1 Serbia 787-8 1-Jun-17 European Nature Protection EN 441-8 3a Serbia RA81 27-Feb-17 European Indoor Track & Field Championships 3c Serbia RA83 27-Apr-17 European Wrestling Championships 3c Turkey 3536 30-Jan-17 Eurasia Tunnel 3b Turkey 3537-9 12-Feb-17 European Youth Olympic Festival EN 441-9 3c

The following issues have earned our (not-so-) coveted “cinderella” designation:

Djibouti 1071d 25-Nov-16 Eurostar EN 441-11 3b Mali 1057a 2-Jul-99 Charles de Gaulle, from ss of 4 4a Mali 1057b 2-Jul-99 Concorde, from ss of 4 3b St. Thomas & Prince Is 3050, 3069 26-Jan-16 Concorde, 3050 ss of 4, 3069 ss of 1 3b St. Thomas & Prince Is 3057d 26-Jan-16 “Europe” sculpture by Pierre Alexandre Schoenwerk 3b St. Thomas & Prince Is 3104 30-Mar-16 Eurostar fast train, ss EN 436-9 3b St. Vincent 4064 29-Jan-16 Thurn &Taxis, ss of 3 4b

Continuation on next page…. JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-17 NEW ISSUES with Scott catalog numbers - Don Smith From Linn’s November and December Special Editions

• = position in proposed new HB outline

COUNTRY SCOTT # DATE OF ISSUE DESCRIPTION *

The following issues have earned our (not-so-) coveted “cinderella” designation, continued from previous page,,,,

Sierra Leone 3303a, 3322 26-Jun-15 Napoleon (3322 ss of 1 ) 4c Sierra Leone 3316, 3335 26-Jun-15 Churchill, ss of 4 (3316a w/de Gaulle, 3335 ss of 1 4a Sierra Leone 3320, 3339 26-Jun-15 European Soccer Champs, ss of 4, 3339 ss of 1 3c Sierra Leone 3354, 3374 24-Jul-15 Concorde, ss of 4, 3374 ss of 1 3b Sierra Leone 3550, 3570 21-Dec-15 Tour de France race, ss of 4, 3570 ss of 1 3c EN 433-8, 434-11 Sierra Leone 3709a 29-Apr-16 Thalys high-speed train from ss of 4 EN 434-10 3b Sierra Leone 3844a 29-Aug-16 European Union flag 3b Sierra Leone 3931, 3950 29-Sep-16 European Soccer Champs, ss of 4, 3950 ss of 1 3c EN 437-10 Sierra Leone 3937, 3856 29-Sep-16 Churchill, ss of 4 (3937a w/de Gaulle) 3856 ss of 1 4a EN 437-10 Sierra Leone 4009a 28-Nov-16 Eurostar train, from ss of 4 EN 441-11 3b Sierra Leone 4015, 4035 28-Nov-16 Concorde, ss of 4, 4035 ss of 1 EN 441-12 3b Solomon Islands 2381, 2406 4-Sep-17 Concorde, ss of 4, 2406 ss of 1 see below 3b

New Issues Concorde CHAD 2ss SOLOMON ISLANDS 2ss CH-17217a/b SI-17417a/b Scott # 2382, 2406 Issue date 21 April 2017 Issue date 4 September 2017

Why the space shuttle is included is a mystery.

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-18

The Miscellaneous Box — Joe Sullivan

Hi Dana,

Pictured here is a letter from Italy that I received earlier this year. It now occurs to me that the combination of stamps used to pay the €2,20 rate (actually overpaid by €0,01) is an interesting EUROPA- related combination:

- one copy of Sc2556 (€ 0,41) 2003 issue marking the Italian Presiden- cy of the Council of the European Union

- four copies of Sc2604 (€ 0,45) one of the two EUROPA 2004 issues.

I'll let you decide if it's worth illustrating in the newsletter. As you know, I'm not a true EUROPA stamp collector, so what interests the membership is not in my area of expertise.

Joe Sullivan

Au contraire Joe. Editor Emeritus Steve Luster would have been very interested in this, as he enjoyed collecting Europa stamps that were used accurately for postage. He would likely have made you an offer! ▬

Mea Culpa Dept. German Covers — Follow-up

• The renewal form that was included with the In the last EN (#442-12) I reported on some in- last issue failed to include a return address. teresting items available from Deutsche Post That was pointed out to me rather quickly by called “Commemorative Covers.” our online readers, and I immediately updated I wondered the website. Resourceful print readers simply if they might sent their renewals to me, which was fine. I actually be need the money. Just kidding — I forwarded postal cards. them on to our treasurer. The corrected renew- I have since al form is attached to this issue. If you haven’t obtained a sent in your dues as of yet, we’d sure appreci- few and can ate it if you would do so now. Thank you! report that • Readers who like to punch 3 holes in the news- they are in- letter and place it in a binder may have noticed deed covers that a few pages did not line up properly. My — postal stationery envelopes (i.e., stamps im- bad again. One of the last things on my to-do printed) along with a commemorative cachet.

list is to make sure that all pages are properly I decided that trying to order directly from lined up (even pages go on the left, odd pages Deutsche Post was a hassle (and expensive) so I on the right). A last minute suggested edit had gave the delcampe auction site a shot. Jackpot! me moving a page to a different spot, which of Not only did I find most of what I was looking course messed up the layout, and I forgot to for, but a few more items as well. They make a go back and re-align the pages. The online edi- nice addition to my collection and worth an arti- tion has been fixed, so you can reprint the issue cle in an upcoming issue. ▬ from there if you like. ▬ JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-19

Editor’s ½ Page

BULLETIN OF THE Auction #137 was a success, but the results were interesting to say EUROPA STUDY UNIT, the least., with one bidder submitting bids for nearly half of the auc- APS# 219613 tion. The bargain hunting pays off. If one is the only bidder on an AN ASSOCIATION OF PHILATELISTS item, Don will knock it down to a half dollar or less. I can attest to DEVOTED TO THE STUDY OF PHILATELIC MATERIALS COVERING THE IDEA OF A that; I won lot #2 for 30c. So our “carpet bidder” walked away with UNITED EUROPE... UNITED IN A some truly good finds.

POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL What surprised me more was that the Belgium proofs went without SENSE. any bids. That was a major missed opportunity to get some scarce www.europastudyunit.org material at a bargain price. What if you had been the only bidder?

EDITOR: Mr. Dana Roper, 7266 Stay with us. Maybe Don will give us another chance someday.

Prices Cove Pl, Gainesville, VA As I write this, the weather outside is 20155; email: [email protected] OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS: frightful. (Hmm. Maybe I’m onto a possi- PRESIDENT: Mr. Dana Roper ble song.) I mentioned to Don that it was EXECUTIVE SECRETARY: Mr. Ton- 15 degrees in the DC area; he said he’d ny VanLoij come down to get warm, as it was 2 de- TREASURER: Tonny VanLoij grees in Johnstown. Forecast is for VICE PRESIDENT: Tonny Van Loij SECOND VICE PRESIDENT: open worse to come.

DIRECTORS: Mr. Alex Cwiekalo, So as we’re exchanging emails here Ms. Caroline Scannel, Mr. Dan comes our HB editor with an email from Shilcrat WEBMASTERS: Dana Roper, Hawaii and the picture on the left, ac- (acting) companied by the message “Missing you AUCTION MANAGER: Mr. Donald folks back on the mainland ... Alex”. W. Smith, P.O. Box 576, Johnstown, Oh, yeah, Alex. I’ll bet you can’t wait to PA 15907. return to Columbus, OH. EUROPA HANDBOOK: Alex

Cwiekalo

ANNUAL DUES: (Including one year Follow-Up of the EUROPA NEWS): Electronic Brexit / SPexit — Where Are We? Membership only $10/yr; Standard membership (hardcopy of EN mailed): Brexit is proceeding, but slowly. The $20/yr USA; $30/yr outside USA. target date for the UK to leave the EU is Dues are payable as of March of 2019, Many business groups, January 1st each year. Please see this issue’s insert. however, are calling for a longer Payments must be made in U.S. “transition phase,” a temporary period Dollars; cash, or a bank draft, or a after the UK leaves the EU and before money order (made payable to the the final arrangements kick in. Both sides have talked about having Europa Study Unit). We also have a such an arrangement, although they use different names for it. The PayPal account (europastudyunit, UK calls it an "implementation phase" that will avoid a "cliff edge" email for businesses on Brexit day. [email protected]) to which any payments can be transferred. The European Commission's guidelines state that the UK should Any of these methods is acceptable; continue to follow EU law and stay in the European customs union however, when using PayPal please and single market during the transition phase, which should not last add 7% to cover PayPal costs. beyond 2020. — from BBC News SERVICES TO MEMBERS: Periodic bulletin (EUROPA NEWS) to all As for “SPexit”, aka Catalonian independence, it ain’t over ‘til it’s members; website with special over. Secessionists narrowly won an election, called by Prime Minis- “Members Only” section; periodic ter Mariano Rajoy in hopes of calming the country’s constitutional auctions (~3/yr) of EUROPA-related crisis. The gamble didn’t work, and Catalonia’s separatist parties material, EUROPA Handbook, mono- once again won a narrow majority in the region’s Parliament — as graphs and specialty items available only to ESU members. they had before — an outcome that could allow them to revive their independence drive. — from the New York Times JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 443-20

Article and New Issue News Baku – Tbilisi – Kars Railway Corridor

On 30 October 2017, AZERBAIJAN issued a The BTK rail line extends from the bank of the souvenir sheet to mark the Inauguration of the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan to the capital city of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway (BTK): Georgia before carrying on to Turkey, where it feeds into the broader Turkish rail system to Eu- rope beyond. The route is visually depicted on a souvenir sheet issued in 2013 by Georgia (Scott #487, shown in the previous column).

It was first envisioned in 1993 after an existing railway that went to Baku via Armenia was shut down due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. However, decisive action wasn’t taken until 2007, when the leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey met in Tbilisi and signed an agreement to make it a reality. Ten years later, the 846- kilometer (525 mile) long trade route has been commissioned and the first train is rumbling down its tracks. The Baku–Tbilisi–Kars (BTK) is a regional rail link project to directly connect Azerbaijan, Geor- gia and Turkey. It is central to plans to create a rail corridor from the Caspian Sea to Europe via Turkey.

The presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey, along with the prime minis- ters of Geor- Opening Day ceremonies as the first trains roll gia and Ka- zakhstan, The South Caucasus region that the BTK Railway showed up at goes through sits right in the heart of the the com- emerging Eurasian supercontinent — a massive mencement gala and symbolically drove in the market that makes up 65% of the population, final railroad spikes. 75% of energy resources and 40% of the GDP in the world. China is to the east, Turkey and Eu- rope are to the west, Russia is to the north, and Iran, the Middle East, and India are to the south. The BTK Railway was the missing link of the much-heralded middle corridor of the New Silk Road, which is a multimodal trade route that goes from China to Europe via Kazakhstan, Azer- baijan, Georgia, and Turkey.

What is especially appealing about the corridor that the BTK runs along is that it completely by- passes Russia and, by extension, their reactionary sanctions against the import and transit of many EU goods. ▬ Georgia Scott #497 showing the BTK rail route — from Railway Gazette, Forbes, and Radio Liberty