Why Twelve? – The History and the Meaning of the Twelve Stars on the EU’s Flag
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55073/2025.2.89-110Keywords:
flag of Europe, Marian flag, twelve stars, Council of Europe, European Union, Catholic symbol, Strasbourg, Heitz, Lévy, DelorsAbstract
More than fifty years after its adoption by the Council of Europe and some thirty years after its adoption by certain institutions of the then European Communities – the predecessor of the European Union –, there are doubts about the origin and meaning of the European Union’s flag and also about the connection with today’s European Union. The author of the current article strives to answer these questions by examining the alleged Catholic symbolism of the flag and the circumstances and motivations of its adoption by the European Communities.
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