The federalist flag, also known as the Flag of the European Movement, is a flag commonly used by groups or individuals promoting
European federalism, consisting of a large green "E" upon a white field. It was designed as the flag of the
European Movement
The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it.
History
The origins of th ...
, but is no longer used by it.
History
The flag first appeared at the
Congress of Europe
The Hague Congress or the Congress of Europe, considered by many as the first federal moment in European history, was held in The Hague from 7–11 May 1948 with 750 delegates participating from around Europe as well as observers from Canada and ...
in 1948, which was organised by the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity; however, the colour of the E was red. The congress demonstrated the first divisions between unionists and federalists (those wanting a loose union and those wanting a
United States of Europe
The United States of Europe (USE), the European State, the European Federation and Federal Europe, is the hypothetical scenario of the European integration leading to formation of a sovereign superstate (similar to the United States of Ameri ...
). The congress led to the creation of the
European Movement
The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it.
History
The origins of th ...
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
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
and
unity
Unity may refer to:
Buildings
* Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building
* Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper
* Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England
* Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; ...
in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
. It is unknown who authored the flag, though it is speculated that the man most likely to have proposed it was
Duncan Sandys
Edwin Duncan Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys (; 24 January 1908 – 26 November 1987), was a British politician and minister in successive Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a son-in-law of Winston Churchill and played a key r ...
,
British Conservative and the son-in-law of
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
, who was responsible for developing the British European Movement.
[Soldini, David (28 August 2008]
The Federalist Flag, the Battle-Flag for Europe
The New Federalist The flag was first flown in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1949 at the European economic congress.
[Former Flag of the European Movement](_blank)
Flags of the World
The
Council of Europe was established in 1949 as a European forum, with a stated purpose of protecting democracy and human rights. It began its search for a European flag the following year; however, the Council chose not to adopt the green "E" flag, or any other previously used flags. In 1955 it adopted a
circle of twelve yellow stars upon a blue background. The
European Communities, later the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
, also chose not to use the European Movement's flag, adopting the Council of Europe's flag in 1986 on the initiative of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
. As it was not adopted by any European governmental body, and with the Council and European Union's flag being more widely recognised, the European Movement's green "E" began to be confined to the more committed federalist supporters and organisations, such as the
Union of European Federalists
The Union of European Federalists (UEF) is a European non-governmental organisation, campaigning for a Federal Europe. It consists of 20 constituent organisations and it has been active at the European, national and local levels since 1946.
H ...
and the
Young European Federalists
Young European Federalists (french: Jeunes Européens Fédéralistes, JEF) is a political youth organisation. Active in most European countries, it seeks to promote European integration through the strengthening and democratisation of the Euro ...
(though the European Movement now uses a logo based on the twelve star flag).
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
border crossing
Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...
s following the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, in the 1970s calling for
direct European elections, by over 100,000 protesters in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
calling for the adoption of the
Spinelli Treaty (which would have created a European federation but was not adopted) and likewise by tens of thousands supporting the
European Constitution
The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European U ...
at the 2000
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...
European Council. This has given it a character, unlike the European Union flag, of signifying struggle, in the fight against
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
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".
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
partisan flag by the federalists who desire "a democratic and efficient Europe, a Europe capable of acting in the world and coping with the challenges of the 21st century, a Europe capable of defending and promoting beyond its frontiers the values of peace, humanism and progress, which constitute the common heritage of all European citizens."
Furthermore, in its ideals of peace, progress,
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.
See also
*
Flag of Europe
The Flag of Europe or European Flag consists of twelve golden stars forming a circle on a blue field. It was designed and adopted in 1955 by the Council of Europe (CoE) as a symbol for the whole of Europe.
Since 1985, the flag has also been ...
(
Council of Europe and
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
)
*
Flag of the Western Union
The Western Union (WU) was a military alliance established between France, the United Kingdom and the three Benelux countries between 1948 and 1954. The flag of the Western Union, also referred to as the Western Union Standard, displays an unbroke ...
*
Flag of the Western European Union
The flag of the Western European Union (WEU) was dark blue with a semicircle of ten yellow five pointed stars, broken at the top, with the organisation's initials in the centre. Although it is the flag of a military organisation, it has rarely bee ...
*
Flag of the European Coal and Steel Community
The flag of the European Coal and Steel Community was a horizontal bicolour flag defaced with stars which represented the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) between 1958 (six years after the ECSC was founded) until 2002 when the Community wa ...
*
European Movement
The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it.
History
The origins of th ...
*
Union of European Federalists (UEF)
*
History of the European Union
The European Union is a geo-political entity covering a large portion of the European continent. It is founded upon numerous treaties and has undergone expansions and secessions that have taken it from six member states to 27, a majority of th ...
References
{{reflist
Eurofederalism
Activism flags
Flags introduced in 1948