Tajani the pro-European ‘stumbles’ over the EU flag

Brussels – The EU flag as a symbol and homage to the Christian-Jewish roots of Europe: This is the interpretation offered by Antonio Tajani, the current Foreign Minister and former European Commissioner as well as President of the European Parliament, in a post on his social channel that is perplexing in terms of content and personality. According to the holder of the Farnesina, the banner symbolising the integration project can be summed up and explained as follows: “Blue like the mantle of the Madonna, with the 12 stars of the tribes of Israel arranged in a circle.” However, this version does not appear neither in the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU nor in the EU portal.

Forty years ago, European leaders chose the common flag of Europe. Blue like the mantle of the Virgin Mary, with the 12 stars of the tribes of Israel arranged in a circle. A symbol of our values of freedom, of our Judeo-Christian roots. pic.twitter.com/kEzKioTHe2

– Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) June 29, 2025

Article 52 of the Lisbon Treaty, the one that transforms the European Economic Community (EEC) into the present European Union, states that the member states recognise in the blue banner with 12 yellow stars “the symbols of the common belonging of the citizens to the European Union and of their bond with it”. While the portal of the European Union, with a small explanatory brochure incorporated, explains that the circle of golden stars represents “solidarity, unity and harmony among the peoples of Europe,” the number of stars in the centre of the flag symbolise “perfection and wholeness.”

In short, Tajani’s version does not coincide with the official and institutional motivations of a flag, that of the EU, which in any case derives from the one in use since 1955 by the Council of Europe, the state organisation aimed at promoting fundamental rights. In that year, all member states chose to use a flag with 12 stars, symbolising harmony and order. Twelve are the months of the year and the constellations fill the sky of the northern hemisphere.
In 1983, the European Parliament adopted the flag created by the Council of Europe and recommended its use as the emblem of the European Communities. The European Council approved the proposal in June 1985. The EU institutions introduced the use of the flag in 1986.

By way of clarification, the Council of Europe explained that before the flag was adopted by the Strasbourg body first, and by the EU later, “some designs included religious images, such as references to the Virgin Mary, but were set aside to keep the flag secular.” In short, Tajani expresses his own interpretation of symbols. Which is puzzling..