Magyar Posta is issuing a postage stamp to mark the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Between 1 January and 30 June 2011 Hungary holds the office of the presidency of the Council of the European Union. Hungary’s task will be to shape the issues on the agenda of the European Union to match the interests of the 27 Member States. The presidency also has unique and extraordinary importance from several other aspects. It is a widely held view among the Member States that the first rotating presidency is a kind of baptism of fire. It is only when a member state manages this complicated decisionmaking mechanism that it truly comes to understand it. The presidency involves political, diplomatic, professional and communication duties, and the results achieved in these affect the perception of the given member state. These six months will make Hungary more visible as a member state both within and outside the European Union, and will raise consciousness of the advantages and opportunities of the European Union in domestic public opinion. The Treaty of Lisbon introduced the trio presidency on 1 January 2010. Based on this, the rotat-ing presidencies are arranged into groups of three to ensure coherent, longterm cooperation within this framework. Hungary formed the first joint trio with Spain and Belgium, which performed the duties of the rotating presidency in the first and second semesters of 2010. The political agenda of the Hungarian presidency seeks to build on the human factor and concentrates on four main areas: growth and employment to protect the European social model, a stronger Europe, a citizen friendly Europe, and expansion and neighbourhood policy. (Source: mfa.gov.hu , eu2011.hu) The main motif of the stamp is a detail of the official logo of the presidency, the abbreviation “eu” in the Hungarian tricolour (suggesting handwriting), and the inscription “Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union”. The stamps are specially arranged by point reflection in sheets of 36. The stamps in each line are turned through 90° or 180°, or remain in the same position. On the left and right edges of the square sheet of stamps the national colours continue from one stamp onto the border, and next to this is the inscription “Magyar Posta, the official carrier of the Hungarian EU presidency’s mail” together with the logo. The upper border of the composition is supplemented by a barcode and on the bottom edge there is only the logo and tricolour continuing onto the border. The motifs of the stamp design are repeated on the first day cover and postmark.