The famous blue and yellow star-studded flag was adopted by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers on 9 December 1955. It was launched officially on 13 December of the same year in Paris. In 1983 the European Parliament adopted the flag that was devised by the Council of Europe and recommended that it become the European Communities' emblem.
The European Council gave its approval in June 1985. The European Union's institutions began to use the flag in 1986. The European flag has since become synonymous with a shared political project which unites all Europeans, transcending their diversity. The only countries in Europe not using the flag are Belarus and Russia, which are not members of the Council of Europe.
