European Flag
December 1955
The Committee of Ministers chooses the 12-star flag on an azure background as the European Flag. The European Community adopt the same flag in 1986.
Selected Documents from the Council of Europe Archives
23 August 1949
Proposal by Camille Manné (Founder of the SICOP printing firm, Bischheim, Alsace, France)
23 November 1949
Memorandum from Paul Levy to Jacques-Camille Paris (Secretary General) about the need for a European flag
Paul Levy's memorandum [French only]
19 January 1950
Memorandum from Paul Levy to Jacques-Camille Paris (Secretary General) about having a cross on the European flag
Paul Levy's memorandum [French only]
5 June 1950
Letter from Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi to Jacques-Camille Paris (Secretary General) about using the red cross of the united states of Europe
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi's letter [French only]
More about Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi ...
27 July 1950
Memorandum presented to the Council of Europe by Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi about using the red cross of the United States of Europe
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi's memorandum
More about Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi ...
29 July 1950
Memorandum from Paul Levy to Guy Mollet about the flag of the European Movement
Paul Levy's memorandum [French only]
6 November 1950
Letter from Louis Wirion (Luxembourg) to Paul Levy - proposals for a flag
Louis Wirion's letter [French only]
10 November 1950
Paul Levy's reply to Louis Wirion about the 8-pointed star. He will transmit the proposals to the Assembly
Paul Levy's letter [French only]
10 November 1950
Letter from Paul Levy to Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi
Paul Levy's letter [French only]
January 1951
Letter from J. Dynan (Associated Press) to Paul Levy - proposals for a flag
13 January 1951
Letter from J. Dynan (Associated Press) to Paul Levy - more proposals for a flag
18 January 1951
Letter from Paul Levy to Mrs Dynan about her proposal for a flag
25 January 1951
Letter from Louis Wirion (Luxembourg) to Paul Levy
Louis Wirion's letter [French only]
26 September 1951
Memorandum from Paul Levy to Antoine Fischer (Saisons d'Alsace?) - 12 proposals for a flag
Paul Levy's memorandum [French only]
15 October 1951
Letter from Arsène Heitz to Paul Levy. He proposes a red cross
Arsène Heitz's letter [French only]
11 December 1951
Memorandum from Paul Levy about the first results of the Assembly's referendum. Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi's proposal receives the most votes but there are British and Turkish objections to a cross.
16 December 1951
Extract of a letter from George Coedes on the Turks and the cross
Extract of George Coedes' letter [French only]
5 January 1952
Letter from Arsène Heitz to F. Caracciolo (Clerk of the Assembly). He proposes a red cross on a green background, inspired by Charlemagne’s standard
Arsène Heitz's letter [French only]
25 January 1952
Letter from Salvador de Madariaga to Paul Levy proposing a flag of gold stars on a blue background
Salvador de Madariaga's letter [French only]
6 February 1952
Paul Levy's reply to Salvador de Madariaga
Paul Levy's letter [French only]
13 February 1952
Letter from Salvador de Madariaga to Paul Levy sending 250 copies of his design
Salvador de Madariaga's letter [French only]
13 February 1952
Letter from Paul Levy to Paul Martin, Curator of Strasbourg's Museums, giving the result of the Assembly's referendum
Paul Levy's letter [French only]
15 February 1952
Letter from F. Caracciolo (Clerk of the Assembly) giving the result of the Assembly's referendum
February 1952
Letter from Paul Levy to Salvador de Madariaga on Turkish opposition to a cross
Paul Levy's letter [French only]
27 March 1952
Letter from Paul Levy to Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi on Turkish opposition to a cross
Paul Levy's letter [French only]
15 April 1952
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi's reply to Paul Levy proposing a cross with a crescent added
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi's reply [French only]
12 May 1952
Letter from Paul Levy to Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi. He suggests how to proceed as regards his proposal for a crescent shape to be added
Paul Levy's letter [French only]
17 May 1952
Letter from Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi to Paul Levy with a copy of a memorandum to Mr Cauwelaert (Chair of the Assembly Committee) concerning his proposal for a crescent shape to be added
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi's letter [French only]
16 June 1952
Letter from C. Hayta (Adviser, Turkish Embassy) to Paul Levy about the Turkish flag
C. Hayta's letter [French only]
18 June 1952
Letter from Paul Levy to Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi about recent developments regarding the European flag
Paul Levy's letter [French only]
June 1952
Letter from Paul Levy to C. Hayta about the Turkish flag
Paul Levy's letter [French only]
June 1952
Letter from Paul Levy to Mr Cauwelaert. Cover note to accompany his note about the European flag issue
Paul Levy's letter [French only]
18 July 1952
Letter from Marcel Meris to Paul Levy, requesting a copy of his study from the Saisons d'Alsace
Marcel Maris' letter [French only]
19 August 1952
Paul Levy's reply to Marcel Meris. Turkish opposition has caused him to make a new proposal to the Assembly
Paul Levy's letter [French only]
25 September 1953
The Assembly adopts a heraldic description of the flag design
The heraldic description [French only]
1 October 1953
Letter from Paul Levy to Roger Gromand (European Defence Community) on the Assembly's choice of flag
Paul Levy's letter [French only]
1953
Internal memorandum about the European flag and the Sarre region
December 1953
Letter from Walter Hallstein (Secretary of State, German Foreign Office) to the Secretary General, pointing out that the Committee of Ministers is the only body empowered to adopt a Council of Europe emblem.
1954
Internal memorandum showing the history of the European flag question
15 December 1954
New proposal from Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi in a letter to Stéphanos Stephanopoulos, Chair of the Committee of Ministers
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi's letter [French only]
12 February 1959
Letter from Robert Schuman to Paul Levy, approving the 12-star design for the European emblem
Selected Flag Designs
1923
Flag of the Pan-European Movement - Blue, with a red cross on a gold circle
1930
Sketch of a flag for the United States of Europe ("Union Stati Europa")
23 August 1949
Flag showing the design by Camille Manet (Founder of the SICOP printing firm, Bischheim, Alsace, France)
01 December 1951
Salvador de Madariaga proposes a design for the European flag
Salvador de Madariaga's proposal
Date unknown
Modified version of the Pan-European Union flag
5 January 1952
Design by Arsène Heitz showing the standard given by Pope Leo III to Charlemagne
Date unknown
Design by Arsène Heitz - green flag with a red cross
15 November 1952
Design by Arsène Heitz - blue flag with the Turkish flag surrounded by stars in the top left-hand corner
Date unknown
Anonymous drawing - 4 sketches of flags with the same design (blue flag, with the flag of the confederate state and a diamond made up of 15 white stars on the top left)
15 November 1952
Design by Arsène Heitz - blue flag with the British flag on the top left, and 15 stars laid out in two concentric circles in the middle
15 November 1952
Design by Arsène Heitz - blue flag with the French flag on the top left, and 15 stars laid out in two concentric circles in the middle
1953
Azure design with a wreath of 15 stars in the middle
29 March 1953
Design by Arsène Heitz - blue flag with the Italian flag in the top left-hand corner and stars surrounded by a laurel wreath in the middle
12 November 1954
Design by Arsène Heitz - Blue flag with a yellow eight-pointed star in a red circle
25 December 1954
Design by Arsène Heitz - Blue flag with a red and white eight-pointed compass rose in the middle
11 September 1955
Design by Arsène Heitz - Blue flag with a star in the middle surrounded by twelve secondary stars
Photos of different designs
Design by Robert Poucher, Paris
Chronology
Autumn 1949
The Secretary General asks the Bureau of the Assembly to examine the question of the European flag. The Bureau decides that it does not have the authority to adopt the flag
23 June 1950
The Committee on General Affairs asks the Secretary General for a report suggesting measures to make the public aware of the reality of European Union
27 July 1950
Count Coudenhove-Kalergi (European Parliamentary Union) submits a memorandum stating why he considers that the red cross should be included in the design of the European flag
Count Coudenhove-Kalergi's memorandum
Flag of the Pan-European Movement
23 August 1950
Report of the Assembly Committee on General Affairs. The Committee supports the idea of a European flag
28 August 1950
The Assembly decides to form a sub-committee to study the flag proposals
15 July 1951
The Consultative Assembly drafts a memorandum summarising 12 shortlisted proposals (a) to (l), which indicates their origin
26 July 1951
The Committee examines the proposals in document AS/RPP II (3) 2; listens to a presentation by Paul Levy; and asks the Secretariat to prepare an additional memorandum summarising the proposals
15 October 1951
The Consultative Assembly drafts a memorandum summarising the 12 proposals
27 November 1951
The Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges decides to seek the opinion of the Representatives of the Assembly before proceeding further
December 1951
The 12 proposals are transmitted to the Assembly
25 January 1952
Letter from Salvador de Madariaga to Paul Levy proposing a blue flag with gold stars.
Paul Levy's reply to Salvador de Madariaga's letter, making reference to its content [French only]
Page 6, paragraph 10 of document CM(54)48, making reference to Salvador de Madariaga's letter
15 February 1952
Letter from the Clerk of the Assembly to the Assembly Representatives, giving the results of the referendum and mentioning British and Turkish opposition to a cross.
1952
The Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges requests the Secretariat General to submit a further report. Because of other obligations, the Committee is unable to examine the report until May 1953.
Page 6, paragraph 12 of CM(54)48
19 August 1952
Paul Levy mentions in a letter that, because of Turkish opposition to a cross, he is making a new proposal to the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges
Paul Levy's letter [French only]
11 May 1953
Secretariat memorandum summarising the history of the flag question. The memorandum mentions Turkish opposition to the cross and the new proposal from Salvador de Madariaga for gold stars on a blue background
20 May 1953
After a presentation by Paul Levy, the Committee provisionally approves a design of gold stars on a blue (azure) background and appoints Robert Bichet as Rapporteur
17 September 1953
Draft report by Robert Bichet. He argues for a white flag with 15 green stars. The Committee decides against this and opts for gold stars on a blue (azure) background
25 September 1953
The Assembly adopts a 15-point star as its own emblem and recommends that the Committee of Ministers adopt the same emblem for the Council of Europe as a whole.
The German Representative raises the issue of the status of the Sarre region. At the request of Mr Kiesinger, the word "nations" is replaced by "members" in the description of the emblem
Extract of AS(5)CR23 - Minutes of the Assembly's twenty-third sitting
Assembly Recommendation No. 56
December 1953
Letter from Walter Hallstein (Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Germany) to the Secretary General, pointing out that only the Committee of Ministers has the power to adopt a Council of Europe emblem
19 March 1954
Secretariat Memorandum on the choice of an emblem for the Council of Europe. Makes the distinction between a flag and an emblem.
15 May 1954
The Deputies adopt the proposal in CM(54)99 to refer the question to the Joint Committee, and they ask the Assembly to suspend use of the 15-star flag
19 May 1954
The Joint Committee concludes that:
- the Assembly will suspend its use of the 15-star emblem
- an emblem must be adopted for the whole Organisation as soon as possible
- the Assembly will be associated with this work, which will be carried out by the Committee of Ministers
18 August 1954
Letter from the German government to the Secretary General, proposing the creation of a committee of 3 Assembly members and 3 heraldic experts
7 September 1954
The Deputies decide to form an ad-hoc committee which will report to them, comprising 3 members of the Assembly (Robert Bichet, Erler and Karl Wistrand) and 3 heraldic experts nominated by Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands
12 November 1954
The Ad-hoc Committee meets and chooses a blue flag with 8 interlocking rings, a design submitted by the Secretariat
The rings are subsequently rejected by the Deputies
12 January 1955
The Secretariat displays a collection of designs for the Deputies, prepared by the Secretariat
12 March 1955
The Secretariat presents 2 designs chosen during the previous meeting of the Deputies:
- a circle of 12 gold stars on azure background (proposal by Arsène Heitz)
- a scattering of gold stars on an azure background (proposal by Salvador de Madariaga)
The Deputies decide to forward both designs to the Joint Committee and to indicate their preference at their next meeting
Salvador de Madariaga's design
24 April 1955
- The Deputies indicate their preference for the 12-star flag. Both options are sent to the Assembly for a final decision
- The Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges approves the 12-star flag
25 October 1955
The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers adopt the 12-star flag
9 December 1955
The Deputies adopt the 12-star flag and accompanying heraldic description
13 December 1955
Official presentation of the flag by the Chair of the Committee of Ministers
17 February 1986
The Deputies “take note with satisfaction” of the decision of the European Community to use the European Flag and Anthem
Bibliography and Links
Bibliography
- Bichet, Robert - Le Drapeau de l'Europe - Besançon: Jacques et Demontrond - 1985
Le Drapeau de l'Europe [French only]
- Göldner, Markus : Politische Symbole der europäischen Integration. - Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1988
- Larcher, Aloïs : Le Drapeau de l’Europe et l’Hymne Européen – Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1995
Le Drapeau de l’Europe et l’Hymne Européen [French only]
- Levy, Paul M.G. and Martin, Paul: Un Drapeau pour l’Europe – In: Saisons d’Alsace, no.3, 1950 [French only]
Un Drapeau pour l’Europe [French only]
- Kowalski, Krysztof: Europa: mity, modele, symbole - Kraków: Miedzynarodowe Centrum Kultury, 2002. ISBN: 83-892739-91-2
Liens vers d'autres pages web