Drapeau européen
Décembre 1955
Le Comité des Ministres choisit le drapeau aux 12 étoiles sur fond bleu comme drapeau européen. La Communauté européenne adopte le même drapeau en 1986.
Résolution du Comité des Ministres sur le choix du drapeau Res(55)32 [fr]
Sélection de documents sur les projets de drapeau européen en provenance des fonds d'archives du Conseil de l'Europe
23 août 1949
Proposition de Camille Manné (fondateur de la SICOP, imprimerie alsacienne de Bischheim, France) relative au drapeau européen qui doit être un "symbole de la tardive réconciliation franco-allemande, sous les auspices des autres nations européennes, de la nation anglaise en pârticulier."
Projet d'un drapeau européen par Camille Manné - 23 août 1949 [bilingue]
23 novembre 1949
Note de service de Paul Levy à Jacques-Camille Paris, Secrétaire Général sur la nécessité pressante pour le Conseil de l'Europe d'avoir un emblème.
Memorandum de Paul Levy sur l'adoption d'un drapeau européen - 23 novembre 1949 [fr]
19 janvier 1950
Memorandum de Paul Levy à Jacques-Camille Paris, Secrétaire Général motivant la proposition d'avoir une croix sur le drapeau européen, les armes de Strasbourg, etc.
Paul Levy's memorandum (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
5 juin 1950
Letter from Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi to Jacques-Camille Paris (Secretary General) about using the red cross of the united states of Europe
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
More about Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi ...
27 juillet 1950
Memorandum presented to the Council of Europe by Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi about using the red cross of the United States of Europe
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi's memorandum [en anglais] (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
More about Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi ...
29 juillet 1950
Memorandum from Paul Levy to Guy Mollet about the flag of the European Movement
Paul Levy's memorandum (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
6 novembre 1950
Letter from Louis Wirion (Luxembourg) to Paul Levy - proposals for a flag
Louis Wirion's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
10 novembre 1950
Paul Levy's reply to Louis Wirion about the 8-pointed star. He will transmit the proposals to the Assembly
Paul Levy's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
10 novembre 1950
Letter from Paul Levy to Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi
Paul Levy's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
janvier 1951
Letter from J. Dynan (Associated Press) to Paul Levy - proposals for a flag
J. Dynan's letter [en anglais] (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
13 janvier 1951
Letter from J. Dynan (Associated Press) to Paul Levy - more proposals for a flag
J. Dynan's letter [en anglais] (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
18 janvier 1951
Letter from Paul Levy to Mrs Dynan about her proposal for a flag
Paul Levy's letter [en anglais] (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
25 janvier 1951
Letter from Louis Wirion (Luxembourg) to Paul Levy
Louis Wirion's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
26 septembre 1951
Memorandum from Paul Levy to Antoine Fischer (Saisons d'Alsace?) - 12 proposals for a flag
Paul Levy's memorandum (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
15 octobre 1951
Letter from Arsène Heitz to Paul Levy. He proposes a red cross
Arsène Heitz's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
11 décembre 1951
Memorandum from Paul Levy about the first results of the Assembly's referendum. Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi's proposal receives the most votes but there are British and Turkish objections to a cross.
Memorandum from Paul Levy [en anglais] (opens new window)
16 décembre 1951
Extract of a letter from George Coedes on the Turks and the cross
Extract of George Coedes' letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
5 janvier 1952
Letter from Arsène Heitz to F. Caracciolo (Clerk of the Assembly). He proposes a red cross on a green background, inspired by Charlemagne’s standard
Arsène Heitz's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
25 janvier 1952
Letter from Salvador de Madariaga to Paul Levy proposing a flag of gold stars on a blue background
Salvador de Madariaga's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
6 février 1952
Paul Levy's reply to Salvador de Madariaga
Paul Levy's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
13 février 1952
Letter from Salvador de Madariaga to Paul Levy sending 250 copies of his design
Salvador de Madariaga's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
13 février 1952
Letter from Paul Levy to Paul Martin, Curator of Strasbourg's Museums, giving the result of the Assembly's referendum
Paul Levy's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
15 février 1952
Letter from F. Caracciolo (Clerk of the Assembly) giving the result of the Assembly's referendum
F. Caracciolo's letter [en anglais] (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
Février 1952
Letter from Paul Levy to Salvador de Madariaga on Turkish opposition to a cross
Paul Levy's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
27 mars 1952
Letter from Paul Levy to Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi on Turkish opposition to a cross
Paul Levy's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
15 avril 1952
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi's reply to Paul Levy proposing a cross with a crescent added
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi's reply (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
12 mai 1952
Letter from Paul Levy to Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi. He suggests how to proceed as regards his proposal for a crescent shape to be added
Paul Levy's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
17 mai 1952
Letter from Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi to Paul Levy with a copy of a memorandum to Mr Cauwelaert (Chair of the Assembly Committee) concerning his proposal for a crescent shape to be added
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
16 juin 1952
Letter from C. Hayta (Adviser, Turkish Embassy) to Paul Levy about the Turkish flag
C. Hayta's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
18 juin 1952
Letter from Paul Levy to Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi about recent developments regarding the European flag
Paul Levy's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
Juin 1952
Letter from Paul Levy to C. Hayta about the Turkish flag
Paul Levy's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
Juin 1952
Letter from Paul Levy to Mr Cauwelaert. Cover note to accompany his note about the European flag issue
Paul Levy's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
18 juillet 1952
Letter from Marcel Meris to Paul Levy, requesting a copy of his study from the Saisons d'Alsace
Marcel Maris' letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
19 août 1952
Paul Levy's reply to Marcel Meris. Turkish opposition has caused him to make a new proposal to the Assembly
Paul Levy's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
25 septembre 1953
The Assembly adopts a heraldic description of the flag design
The heraldic description (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
1 octobre 1953
Letter from Paul Levy to Roger Gromand (European Defence Community) on the Assembly's choice of flag
Paul Levy's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
1953
Internal memorandum about the European flag and the Sarre region
Memorandum (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
Décembre 1953
Letter from Walter Hallstein (Secretary of State, German Foreign Office) to the Secretary General, pointing out that the Committee of Ministers is the only body empowered to adopt a Council of Europe emblem.
Walter Hallstein's letter [en anglais] (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
1954
Internal memorandum showing the history of the European flag question
Memorandum (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
15 décembre 1954
New proposal from Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi in a letter to Stéphanos Stephanopoulos, Chair of the Committee of Ministers
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
12 février 1959
Letter from Robert Schuman to Paul Levy, approving the 12-star design for the European emblem
Sélection de maquettes proposées pour le drapeau européen
1923
Flag of the Pan-European Movement - Blue, with a red cross on a gold circle
See the flag (opens new window)
1930
Sketch of a flag for the United States of Europe ("Union Stati Europa")
See the sketch (opens new window)
23 August 1949
Flag showing the design by Camille Manet (Founder of the SICOP printing firm, Bischheim, Alsace, France)
See the flag (opens new window)
01 December 1951
Salvador de Madariaga proposes a design for the European flag
Salvador de Madariaga's proposal (opens new window)
Date unknown
Modified version of the Pan-European Union flag
Modified design (opens new window)
5 January 1952
Design by Arsène Heitz showing the standard given by Pope Leo III to Charlemagne
See the design (opens new window)
Date unknown
Design by Arsène Heitz - green flag with a red cross
See the design (opens new window)
15 November 1952
Design by Arsène Heitz - blue flag with the Turkish flag surrounded by stars in the top left-hand corner
See the design (opens new window)
Date unknown
Anonymous drawing - 4 sketches of flags with the same design (blue flag, with the flag of the confederate state and a diamond made up of 15 white stars on the top left)
See the design (opens new window)
15 November 1952
Design by Arsène Heitz - blue flag with the British flag on the top left, and 15 stars laid out in two concentric circles in the middle
See the design (opens new window)
15 November 1952
Design by Arsène Heitz - blue flag with the French flag on the top left, and 15 stars laid out in two concentric circles in the middle
See the design (opens new window)
1953
Azure design with a wreath of 15 stars in the middle
See the design (opens new window)
29 March 1953
Design by Arsène Heitz - blue flag with the Italian flag in the top left-hand corner and stars surrounded by a laurel wreath in the middle
See the design (opens new window)
12 November 1954
Design by Arsène Heitz - Blue flag with a yellow eight-pointed star in a red circle
See the design (opens new window)
25 December 1954
Design by Arsène Heitz - Blue flag with a red and white eight-pointed compass rose in the middle
See the design (opens new window)
11 September 1955
Design by Arsène Heitz - Blue flag with a star in the middle surrounded by twelve secondary stars
See the design (opens new window)
Photos of different designs
Anonymous design (opens new window)
Design by Robert Poucher, Paris (opens new window)
Chronologie
Automne 1949
Le Secrétaire général demande au Bureau de l'Assemblée d'examiner la question du drapeau européen. Le Bureau souligne qu'il ne relève pas de sa compétence d'adopter le drapeau.
23 juin 1950
The Committee on General Affairs asks the Secretary General for a report suggesting measures to make the public aware of the reality of European Union
Page 5 of CM(54)48 (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
27 juillet 1950
Count Coudenhove-Kalergi (European Parliamentary Union) submits a memorandum stating why he considers that the red cross should be included in the design of the European flag
Count Coudenhove-Kalergi's memorandum [en anglais] (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
Flag of the Pan-European Movement (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
23 August 1950
Report of the Assembly Committee on General Affairs. The Committee supports the idea of a European flag
28 August 1950
The Assembly decides to form a sub-committee to study the flag proposals
15 juillet 1951
The Consultative Assembly drafts a memorandum summarising 12 shortlisted proposals (a) to (l), which indicates their origin
26 juillet 1951
The Committee examines the proposals in document AS/RPP II (3) 2; listens to a presentation by Paul Levy; and asks the Secretariat to prepare an additional memorandum summarising the proposals
15 October 1951
The Consultative Assembly drafts a memorandum summarising the 12 proposals
See the memorandum (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
27 November 1951
The Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges decides to seek the opinion of the Representatives of the Assembly before proceeding further
Décembre 1951
The 12 proposals are transmitted to the Assembly
25 January 1952
Letter from Salvador de Madariaga to Paul Levy proposing a blue flag with gold stars.
15 février 1952
Letter from the Clerk of the Assembly to the Assembly Representatives, giving the results of the referendum and mentioning British and Turkish opposition to a cross.
See the letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
1952
The Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges requests the Secretariat General to submit a further report. Because of other obligations, the Committee is unable to examine the report until May 1953.
Page 6, paragraph 12 of CM(54)48 (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
19 August 1952
Paul Levy mentions in a letter that, because of Turkish opposition to a cross, he is making a new proposal to the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges
Paul Levy's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
11 May 1953
Secretariat memorandum summarising the history of the flag question. The memorandum mentions Turkish opposition to the cross and the new proposal from Salvador de Madariaga for gold stars on a blue background
20 May 1953
After a presentation by Paul Levy, the Committee provisionally approves a design of gold stars on a blue (azure) background and appoints Robert Bichet as Rapporteur
17 September 1953
Draft report by Robert Bichet. He argues for a white flag with 15 green stars. The Committee decides against this and opts for gold stars on a blue (azure) background
25 September 1953
The Assembly adopts a 15-point star as its own emblem and recommends that the Committee of Ministers adopt the same emblem for the Council of Europe as a whole.
The German Representative raises the issue of the status of the Sarre region. At the request of Mr Kiesinger, the word "nations" is replaced by "members" in the description of the emblem
Extract of AS(5)CR23 - Minutes of the Assembly's twenty-third sitting (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
Assembly Resolution No. 41 [bilingue] (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre]
Assembly Recommendation No. 56 [bilingue] (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
Décembre 1953
Letter from Walter Hallstein (Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Germany) to the Secretary General, pointing out that only the Committee of Ministers has the power to adopt a Council of Europe emblem
Walter Hallstein's letter (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
19 March 1954
Secretariat Memorandum on the choice of an emblem for the Council of Europe. Makes the distinction between a flag and an emblem.
See Memorandum - CM(54)48 (opens new window)
15 May 1954
The Deputies adopt the proposal in CM(54)99 to refer the question to the Joint Committee, and they ask the Assembly to suspend use of the 15-star flag
19 May 1954
The Joint Committee concludes that:
- the Assembly will suspend its use of the 15-star emblem
- an emblem must be adopted for the whole Organisation as soon as possible
- the Assembly will be associated with this work, which will be carried out by the Committee of Ministers
18 August 1954
Letter from the German government to the Secretary General, proposing the creation of a committee of 3 Assembly members and 3 heraldic experts
7 September 1954
The Deputies decide to form an ad-hoc committee which will report to them, comprising 3 members of the Assembly (Robert Bichet, Erler and Karl Wistrand) and 3 heraldic experts nominated by Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands
12 November 1954
The Ad-hoc Committee meets and chooses a blue flag with 8 interlocking rings, a design submitted by the Secretariat
The rings are subsequently rejected by the Deputies
12 January 1955
The Secretariat displays a collection of designs for the Deputies, prepared by the Secretariat
12 March 1955
The Secretariat presents 2 designs chosen during the previous meeting of the Deputies:
- a circle of 12 gold stars on azure background (proposal by Arsène Heitz)
- a scattering of gold stars on an azure background (proposal by Salvador de Madariaga)
The Deputies decide to forward both designs to the Joint Committee and to indicate their preference at their next meeting
Salvador de Madariaga's design (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
24 April 1955
- The Deputies indicate their preference for the 12-star flag. Both options are sent to the Assembly for a final decision
- The Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges approves the 12-star flag
25 October 1955
The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers adopt the 12-star flag
9 décembre 1955
The Deputies adopt the 12-star flag and accompanying heraldic description
Résolution (55) 32 (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
13 décembre 1955
Official presentation of the flag by the Chair of the Committee of Ministers
17 février 1986
The Deputies “take note with satisfaction” of the decision of the European Community to use the European Flag and Anthem
CM/Dél/Concl(86)393, point 4, page 13 (ouvre une nouvelle fenêtre)
Bibliographie et Liens
Bibliographie
- Bichet, Robert - Le Drapeau de l'Europe - Besançon: Jacques et Demontrond - 1985
- Göldner, Markus : Politische Symbole der europäischen Integration. - Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1988
- Larcher, Aloïs : Le Drapeau de l’Europe et l’Hymne Européen – Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1995
Le Drapeau de l’Europe et l’Hymne Européen, la genèse de deux symboles
- Levy, Paul M.G. and Martin, Paul: Un Drapeau pour l’Europe – In: Saisons d’Alsace, no.3, 1950 [Fr]
- Kowalski, Krysztof: Europa: mity, modele, symbole - Kraków: Miedzynarodowe Centrum Kultury, 2002. ISBN: 83-892739-91-2
Liens vers d'autres pages web
Site web du Conseil de l'Europe - page sur le drapeau européen
Site web de l'Union européenne - page sur le drapeau européen