History
The flag was first unveiled at the 1958 Exposition in Brussels, six years after the establishment of the Community. At the Expo, its rivalling flag, the flag of Europe, was also on one of its first public displays.
The number of stars began at six and increased with the membership of the Community until 1986 when it reached twelve. After this it was decided not to increase the number of stars to reflect the new members joining in the 1990s. This kept it inline with the flag of Europe (used by its sister organisations) which displayed twelve stars representing perfection and unity.
The Community eventually merged into the European Community (part of the European Union) in 2002, and on this day the ECSC flag outside the European Commission in Brussels was lowered for the final time by President Romano Prodi and replaced with the EU flag.
Read more about this topic: Flag Of The European Coal And Steel Community
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“No matter how vital experience might be while you lived it, no sooner was it ended and dead than it became as lifeless as the piles of dry dust in a school history book.”
—Ellen Glasgow (1874–1945)
“The true theater of history is therefore the temperate zone.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“It’s nice to be a part of history but people should get it right. I may not be perfect, but I’m bloody close.”
—John Lydon (formerly Johnny Rotten)