Technical characteristics of the European flag

Heraldic description
Geometric description
Colours
Four-colour process
Reproduction on Internet
Monochrome reproduction process
Reproduction on a coloured background

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Heraldic description

On an azure field a circle of twelve golden mullets, their points not touching.

Geometric description

The emblem is in the form of a blue rectangle whose length across is one and a half times its length down. The twelve golden stars, placed at equal intervals, form an invisible circle whose centre is the point of intersection of the diagonals of the rectangle. The radius of the circle is equal to one-third of the height of the rectangle. Each of the stars has five points which are situated on the circumference of an invisible circle whose radius is equal to one-eighteenth of the height of the rectangle. All the stars are upright – i.e., with one point vertical and two points in a straight line perpendicular to the upright edge of the rectangle.

Colours

The colours of the flag are Pantone Reflex Blue for the surface of the rectangle, and Pantone Yellow for the stars. The international Pantone range is widely available and easily accessible even for non-professionals.

Four-colour process

It is not always possible in the four-colour process to obtain the regulation yellow and blue in order to reproduce the flag. In the four-colour process, the closest yellow to Pantone Yellow can be obtained by using 100% “Process Yellow”. By mixing 100% “Process Cyan” and 80% “Process Magenta” it is possible to obtain a colour very close to Pantone Reflex Blue.

Reproduction on Internet

Pantone Reflex Blue corresponds to web-palette colour RGB:0/51/153 (hexadecimal: 003399); Pantone Yellow to web-palette colour RGB:255/204/0 (hexadecimal: FFCC00).

Monochrome reproduction process

If only black is available, outline the rectangle in black and print the stars in black on white. If the emblem is to be reproduced using only blue – it must be Reflex Blue, of course – use this blue for the background and reproduce the stars in negative white.

Reproduction on a coloured background

Ideally, the emblem should be reproduced on a white background. If possible, backgrounds with mixed colours should be avoided – and obviously a background colour that clashes with blue should not be used. If a coloured background is unavoidable, a white border should be placed around the rectangle, with the width of this border being equal to one twenty-fifth of the height of the rectangle.