Flag of Europe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Image:Flag of Europe.svg | |
| Use | National flag and ensign. Image:FIAV 111111.svg Image:FIAV normal.svg |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | December 8, 1955 (CoE) May 26, 1986 (EU) |
| Design | A circle of 12 5-pointed gold stars on a blue field. |
| Designed by | Arsène Heitz |
The Flag of Europe consists of a circle of twelve golden (yellow) stars on a blue background. It is most commonly associated with the European Union (EU), formerly the European Communities, which adopted the flag in the 1980s. However, it was first adopted by the Council of Europe (CoE), a separate international organisation with 47 member states which created it in 1955 and owns its intellectual property rights. That is why it is not the flag of the European Union, but the flag of Europe.
The EU and CoE are separate organisations; while the EU has 27 members, the CoE has 47 members and 5 observers comprising not only all 27 EU members but also all European countries except Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Vatican City. When adopted by the CoE, it was to represent not just itself, but the whole of Europe. Since both the EU and the CoE represent European unity, the two organisations are using the same flag.
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[edit] History
[edit] Previous flags
Although there have been numerous other flags developed by groups to represent Europe, the first major organisation to adopt one was the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which later merged into the European Communities. The ECSC was created in 1952 and the flag was unveiled in 1958 Expo in Brussels.[1]
The flag was two stripes, blue at the top, black at the bottom with 6 yellow or white stars, 3 on each stripe. Blue was for steel, black for coal and the six stars were the six member-states. The stars increased with the number of members until 1986 when it was fixed at twelve. When the ECSC treaty expired in 2002, the flag was lowered in Brussels for the final time and replaced with the European flag.[1][2]
The European Parliament also adopted its own flag. It followed the yellow and blue colour scheme however instead of 12 stars there were the letters EP and PE surrounded by wreath.[3]
[edit] Creation
The Council of Europe's search for a symbol began in 1950 when it set up a committee to look into the question of a European flag. Following numerous proposals (see Early Proposals below) they narrowed their choice to two designs. These were one by Arsène Heitz, who worked at the Council, that was "a crown of 12 golden stars with 5 rays, their points not touching" and another by Salvador de Madariaga, who was the founder of the College of Europe who suggested a constellation of stars.[4][5]
Heitz's flag was preferred by the Committee of Ministers (the Council's main decision making body) and was agreed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in on 1955-10-25. Adopted on 1955-12-08, it was unveiled at the Château de la Muette in Paris on 1955-12-13.[4][5]
[edit] European Communities
Following the 1958 Expo '58 in Brussels, the flag caught on and the Council of Europe lobbied for other European organisations to adopt the flag as a sign of European unity. Once the European Parliament was directly elected in 1979, they too sought a symbol and agreed to use that of the Council of Europe, adopting it on 1983-04-11. Three years later the rest of the European Community followed suit when the European Council adopted the flag for the whole Community on 1986-05-26.[4]
The European Union, which was established by the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 to replace the EC and encompass its functions, also adopted the flag. Since then the use of the flag has been controlled jointly by the Council of Europe and the European Union.[citation needed] The European Union also has a flag day, known as Europe Day, on which the flag is often flown across the Union.[6][7]
[edit] Recent events
The flag was to have been given a formal status in the proposed European Constitution. However since the ratification of that failed, the leaders removed the state-like elements such as the flag from the replacement Treaty of Lisbon. The European Parliament however had supported the inclusion of symbols and in response backed a proposal to use the symbols such as the flag more often in the Parliament with Jo Leinen MEP suggesting that the Parliament should again take the avant-garde in their use.[8]
In April 2004, the flag was flown in space for the first time by ESA astronaut André Kuipers while on board the International Space Station.[9]
[edit] Usage
[edit] Council of Europe
Even though the flag is most used by the EU, the Council of Europe owns the intellectual property of the flag. This means that the Secretary General of the Council of Europe could, in theory, bar the European Union from using the European flag.[citation needed]
The Council of Europe from the beginning desired it to be used by other regional organisations seeking European integration. However the Council now uses a defaced version of the flag as its emblem: it is the existing design with a stylised "e" over the stars[5]
[edit] European Union
The flag symbolises the EU as a whole but it is also the sole emblem of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm.[10] However all other bodies and agencies, except for the European Agency for Reconstruction, have their own emblem, albeit often inspired by the flag's design and colours.[11]
As part of the EU's usage, the flag appears on driving licences and licence plates issued in the bloc[12] as well as on the euro banknotes.[13] Euro coins also display the twelve stars of the flag on both the national and common sides.[14]
The flag must also be used in every official speech made by the President-in-Office of the European Council and is often used on official visits to a non-EU country (where there is the flag of the third country, the national flag and European flag appear together). Some members also have their own rules regarding the use of the flag along side their national flag on domestic occasions. Outside official use, the flag may not be used for aims incompatible with European values.[12]
In national usage, national protocol usually demands the national flag takes precedence over the European flag (which is usually displayed to the right of the national flag from the observers perspective). On occasions where the European flag is flow along side all national flags (for example, at a European Council meeting, the national flags are placed in alphabetical order (according to the state's primary language) with the European flag either at the head, or the far right, of the order of flags.[15][16]
[edit] Wider use
The flag has been intended to represent Europe in its wider sense.[5] The Council of Europe covers all but three European countries, thereby representing much of Europe. In particular the flag has become a banner for pro-Europeanism outside the Union, for example in Georgia where the flag is on most government buildings since Mikhail Saakashvili came to power[17] who used it during his inauguration[18] stating: "[the European] flag is Georgia’s flag as well, as far as it embodies our civilisation, our culture, the essence of our history and perspective, and our vision for the future of Georgia."[19]
It is also used as a pro-democracy emblem in countries such as Belarus where it has been used on protest marches alongside the banned former national flag and flags of opposition movements.[20][21] The flag was used widely in a 2007 "European March" in Minsk as protesters rallied in support of democracy and accession to the EU.[22]
The flag is also used in certain sports arrangements where a unified 'Team Europe' is represented. The features of the flag, or the flag in its entirety are often used as a parts of commercial brands or clearly reflected in the shaping of logos of Europe-wide organisations and companies.
[edit] Design
The flag is blue with a circle of 12 gold/yellow five-pointed stars orientated upwards (the number of stars is fixed). The Heraldic description given by the EU is: "On an azure field a circle of twelve golden mullets, their points not touching."[23]
The Council of Europe described the flag as: "Against the blue sky of the Western world, the stars represent the peoples of Europe in a circle, a symbol of unity. Their number shall be invariably set at twelve, the symbol of completeness and perfection ... just like the twelve signs of the zodiac represent the whole universe, the twelve gold stars stand for all peoples of Europe – including those who cannot as yet take part in building up Europe in unity and peace."
[edit] Colours
| Blue | Gold | |
|---|---|---|
| RGB | 0/51/153 | 255/204/0
|
| Hexadecimal | 003399 | FFCC00
|
| Pantone | Reflex Blue | Yellow |
| CMYK | 100% Process Cyan, 80% Process Magenta | 100% Process Yellow |
Some claim that there was an early design of white stars on a light blue field, symbolising the dependence on the United Nations.[24]
[edit] Number of stars
The number of stars on the flag is fixed at 12 and is not related to the number of member states of the EU since it is originally the flag of the Council of Europe and does not have a relation with the EU.[10] In 1953, the Council of Europe had 15 members; it was proposed that the future flag should have one star for each member, and would not change based on future members. West Germany objected to this as one of the members was the disputed area of Saarland, and to have its own star would imply sovereignty for the region.
On this basis, France also objected to fourteen stars, as this would imply the absorption of Saarland into Germany. Myth has it that the Italian representative then objected that thirteen was an unlucky number (it is not unlucky in Italy),[citation needed] as well as the fact that early flags of the United States featured that number of stars. Twelve was eventually adopted as a number with no political connotations and as a symbol of perfection and completeness[10] because of the ubiquity of the number for groups in European cultures and traditions such as:
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[edit] Biblical interpretation
The circle of stars bears a striking similarity to the twelve-star halo of the Virgin Mary seen in Roman Catholic art. The flag's designer, Arsène Heitz, has acknowledged that the Book of Revelation (which is where the twelve-star halo of the Virgin Mary was first mentioned) helped to inspire him.[25] Apocalypse, Chapter 12:1, is cited to explain the symbolism: "A great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars".
Others have traced the origin of the flag of Europe to the time of the Second World War. Paul M. G. Lévi, a Belgian of Jewish descent, vowed that he if he should survive the war, he would convert to Christianity. He duly survived and became a Catholic. On May 5 1949, the Council of Europe was established in London and Paul Lévi became Chief of its Department of Culture. In 1952, when the idea of a European flag was being discussed, several proposed designs – perhaps inspired by the example several European national flags - included a cross; this however would have been rejected by the Socialists as ideologically biased and too Christian.[26]
One day Lévi passed a statue of the Virgin Mary with a halo of stars and was struck by the way the stars, reflecting the sun, glowed against the blue of the sky. Lévi later visited Count Benvenuti, a Venetian Christian democrat and then Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and suggested that he should propose twelve golden stars on a blue ground as motif for the flag of Europe. This proposal became generally accepted.[26] However, the official authorities of the European Union disregard the biblical interpretation as myth.[27]
[edit] Alternative designs
[edit] Early proposals
In addition to official flags such as the ECSC flag, there were a number of alternative proposals for the European flag. These included using the flag of the International Paneuropean Union, which was a blue, with a red cross inside an orange circle at the centre. Due to the cross symbolism, this was rejected by Turkey (an early member of the Council of Europe).[24] Another organisation's flag was the European Movement, which had a large green E on a white background.[28][29]
A further design was one based on the Olympic rings; eight silver rings on a blue background. It was rejected due to the rings' similarity with "dial","chain" and "zeros". A proposal by Carl Weidl Raymon was of a large yellow star on a blue background. However it was rejected due to its similarity with the so-called Burnet flag, which had been briefly adopted in the 1830s by the Republic of Texas, and the flag of the Belgian Congo.[24]
[edit] Recent designs
In 2002, Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and his architecture firm OMA designed a new flag in response to Commission President Romano Prodi's request to find ways of rebranding the Union in a way that represents Europe's "diversity and unity". The proposed new design was dubbed the "barcode" as it displays the colours of every European flag (of the then 15 members) as vertical stripes. As well as the barcode comparison, it had been compared unfavourably to wallpaper, a TV test card and deckchair fabric. Unlike the current flag it would change to reflect the member states.[30]
It was never officially adopted by the EU or any organisation however it was used as the logo of the Austrian EU Presidency in 2006. It had been updated with the colours of the 10 members who had joined since the proposal and was designed by Koolhaas's firm. Its described aim is "to portray Europe as the common effort of different nations, with each retaining its own unique cultural identity".[31]
[edit] Derivative designs
The design of the European flag has been used in a variation, such as that of the Council of Europe mentioned above, and also to a greater extent such as the flag of the Western European Union (WEU), which uses the same colours and the stars but has a number of stars based on membership and in a semicircle rather than a circle. It is also defaced with the initials of the Western European Union in two languages.[32]
The flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have such a strong connection as the WEU flag, but was partly inspired by the European involvement in, and aspirations of, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It uses the same blue and yellow colours and the stars, although of a different number and colour, are a direct reference to those of the European flag.[33]
[edit] See also
| Europe Portal |
[edit] References
- ^ a b The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Flags Of The World (2004-10-28). Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
- ^ The ECSC flag 1986-2002, European NAvigator
- ^ European Parliament crwflags.com
- ^ a b c The European flag: questions and answers. European NAvigator. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
- ^ a b c d Council of Europe's Emblems. Council of Europe. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
- ^ Rasmussen, Rina Valeur. Celebration of Europe Day 9 May 2007 in Denmar. politeia. Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
- ^ Rasmussen, Rina Valeur (2007-09-05). London Eye lights up in colours of the European flag. Europa (web portal). Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
- ^ Beunderman, Mark (2007-07-11). MEPs defy member states on EU symbols. EU Observer. Retrieved on 2007-07-12.
- ^ Further steps towards a European space policy, European Space Agency
- ^ a b c The European Flag. Europa (web portal). Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
- ^ Emblems. Europa (web portal). Retrieved on 2007-12-28.
- ^ a b European Union: Legal use of the flag. Flags Of The World (2004-10-28). Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
- ^ The euro. European Central Bank. Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
- ^ Euro coins. European Central Bank. Retrieved on 2007-12-28.
- ^ An Bhratach Náisiúnta / The National Flag (RTF). Department of the Taoiseach. Retrieved on 2007-12-28.
- ^ A Guide to Flag Protocol in the United Kingdom (PDF). Flag Institute. Retrieved on 2007-12-28.
- ^ Comment - Georgia: Brussels on its mind. EU Observer. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
- ^ Saakashvili Sworn In as New President. Templeton Thorp. Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
- ^ Georgia: Brussels on its mind. rferl.org (2007-05-02). Retrieved on 2007-08-25.
- ^ Belarus: Scores Arrested, Opposition Leader Hospitalized After Minsk Protests. rferl.org (2004-10-20). Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
- ^ Myers, Steven Lee (2006-03-20). Election is landslide for leader of Belarus. International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-08-25.
- ^ Belarusians had European March in Minsk. charter97.org (2007-10-14). Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
- ^ Graphical specifications for the European Emblem. Europa (web portal). Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
- ^ a b c Council of Europe fahnenversand.de
- ^ The European Commission and religious values. The Economist (2004-10-28). Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
- ^ a b The Flag and State Encyclopaedia
- ^ European Union: Myths on the flag. Flags Of The World (2007-02-04). Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
- ^ European Movement crwflags.com
- ^ Proposals for the European flag crwflags.com
- ^ "Down with EU stars, run up stripes", BBC News, May 8, 2002.
- ^ Austrian EU Presidency Logo
- ^ Western European Union Flags of the World
- ^ Bosnia and Herzegovina - The 1998 Flag Change - Westendorp Comission - The Choice), Flags of the World
[edit] External links
- Council of Europe on the European Flag
- Graphical specifications for the European Emblem
- Flag of the European Union European Navigator
- Ceremony to mark the expiry of the ECSC Treaty (Brussels, 23 July 2002), European NAvigator
- CIA page
- European Union at Flags of the World
- Memorandum on design and designer of European flag
- World flag database
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