Federalist flag

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European Movement
Adopted1948
DesignGreen 'E' letter on a white field

The federalist flag, also known as the Flag of the European Movement, is a flag commonly used by groups or individuals promoting

European Movement
, but is no longer used by it.

History

Federalist flag displayed at the 1948 Congress of Europe in the Hall of Knights in The Hague

The flag first appeared at the

European Movement and, at its first meeting in Strasbourg in September of the same year, adopted the "E" flag but changed the colour red to green. It intended the flag to be a symbol of hope for peace and unity in Europe. It is unknown who authored the flag, though it is speculated that the man most likely to have proposed it was Duncan Sandys, British Conservative and the son-in-law of Winston Churchill, who was responsible for developing the British European Movement.[1] The flag was first flown in London in 1949 at the European economic congress.[2]

The

Young European Federalists (though the European Movement now uses a logo based on the twelve star flag).[1]

Design

The flag is dominated by a green, elongated and rigid letter "E" upon a white background. Geometrically, the flag can be divided three ways across and five ways down, all of equal size; the "E" fills the top and bottom fifth, the left most third and one third in the third fifth from the top. The E hence fills two thirds of the area of the elongated flag.

Symbolism

Today, the flag no longer simply stands for European unity, but for the political struggle for a European federation. The flag has been commonly used by citizens, hoisting it at

European Constitution at the 2000 Nice European Council. This has given it a character, unlike the European Union flag, of signifying struggle, in the fight against nationalism and against unionists who agree with European unity but are not willing to accept a federation which the federalists describe as "the self-evident consequences".[1]

Indicating, there is a desire among federalists not to let the flag fall into disuse. It is not something that is in competition with the European Union's flag, which the federalists see as representing the status quo. Rather they desire the federalist flag to be used as a

anti-nationalism and ending the division of mankind, it is also seen by some as transcending Europe's borders as a universal symbol of these values.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Soldini, David (28 August 2008) The Federalist Flag, the Battle-Flag for Europe, The New Federalist
  2. ^ Former Flag of the European Movement, Flags of the World
  3. ^ Soldini, David (28 August 2008). "The Federalist Flag, the Battle-Flag for Europe". The New Federalist. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
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