Federalist Flag - History

History

The flag first appeared at the Congress 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 a United States of Europe). The congress led to the creation of 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. The flag was first flown in London in 1949 at the European economic congress.

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, 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. 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 and the Young European Federalists (though the European Movement now uses a logo based on the twelve star flag).