Minister Van Peteghem presents commemorative coin for Belgian EU presidency together with ECB president Christine Lagarde

Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem presented today, together with ECB President Christine Lagarde, the new Belgian commemorative 2-euro coin in honour of the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union. This took place after the Eurogroup meeting, in the presence of the Eurogroup finance ministers. The coin therefore highlights the importance of the Council of the European Union and also celebrates 25 years of cooperation within the Economic and Monetary Union.

"With our commemorative coins, we pay tribute to persons or events with a historical impact on our country. And it is precisely for this reason that a coin in honour of the Belgian European Presidency cannot and should not be missing. As president, we have the stated ambition to use our historic commitment to European integration and cooperation for a stronger Europe. The commemorative coin therefore also very emphatically symbolises our European togetherness and conviction to achieve successes."
Vincent Van Peteghem, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, in charge of the Coordination of the Fight against Fraud and in charge of the National Lottery

EU Presidency
From 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2024, Belgium holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Presidency is assigned to one Member State in turn for six months. As President of the Council, Belgium will lead the European agenda and promote cooperation among member states. The aim is to strengthen the European Union, with Belgium acting as a neutral mediator to lead the legislative work and seek compromises between EU member states.

Design emphasising togetherness

On the commemorative 2-euro coin released by the Royal Mint of Belgium, the design reflects the natural shape of leadership. With the text 'BELGIAN PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EU 2024' at the bottom left. Centrally across the coin, 27 swallows, symbolising the 27 member states, swarm around the country code BE. The swallow moves in unison and flies in one group after the trigger. Swallows are helpful, industrious and loyal. On the left is 'IB', the initials of designer Iris Bruijns. Below are the mintmaster's mark (an erlenmeyer flask with aster) and the mintmaster's mark of the Royal Dutch Mint (the Mercury staff).

Two versions, available immediately

This first 2024 2-euro commemorative coin is offered to you in Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) and Proof quality. The BU issue sticks in a colourful coincard and shows a series of iconic Belgian buildings as well as the map of the EU, with Belgium highlighted in gold. The 12 European stars are led upwards by swallows. The reverse shows the map of Belgium and a swallow with a relay baton. As usual, two language versions were also provided for this coincard. The Proof version is packaged in a luxury pouch. The circulation of the coin is limited to a maximum of 125,000 and 5,000 pieces respectively. Both versions are also legal tender in all euro countries, and appear very limited in circulation.

Editor's note

High-resolution images of the 2 euro coin Belgium 2024 'EU presidency Belgium' can be downloaded here: https://royaldutchmint.sharefile.eu/d-s2bb466a8e8a142adbb34af17ae9628f0

Belgian commemorative coins are available at www.herdenkingsmunten.be