 | |
| Adopted | 1948 |
|---|---|
| Design | Green 'E' letter on a white field |
Thefederalist flag, also known as theFlag of the European Movement, is a flag commonly used by groups or individuals promotingEuropean federalism, consisting of a large green "E" upon a white field. It was designed as the flag of theEuropean Movement, but is no longer used by it.
The flag first appeared at theCongress of Europe 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 aUnited States of Europe). The congress led to the creation of theEuropean Movement and, at its first meeting inStrasbourg 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 forpeace andunity inEurope. It is unknown who authored the flag, though it is speculated that the man most likely to have proposed it wasDuncan Sandys,British Conservative and the son-in-law ofWinston Churchill, who was responsible for developing the British European Movement.[1] The flag was first flown inLondon in 1949 at the European economic congress.[2]
TheCouncil 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 acircle of twelve yellow stars upon a blue background. TheEuropean Communities, later theEuropean Union, also chose not to use the European Movement's flag, adopting the Council of Europe's flag in 1986 on the initiative of theEuropean Parliament. 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 theUnion of European Federalists and theYoung European Federalists (though the European Movement now uses a logo based on the twelve star flag).[1]
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.
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 atborder crossings following theSecond World War, in the 1970s calling fordirect European elections, by over 100,000 protesters inMilan calling for the adoption of theSpinelli Treaty (which would have created a European federation but was not adopted) and likewise by tens of thousands supporting theEuropean Constitution at the 2000NiceEuropean Council. This has given it a character, unlike the European Union flag, of signifying struggle, in the fight againstnationalism 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 apartisan flag by the federalists who desire "a democratic and efficient Europe, a Europe capable of acting in the world and adquately [sic] 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."[3] 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.[1]