European symbols
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Council of Europe has developed a series of European Symbols for the continent of Europe, and these have since been shared with the European Union.
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2 European anthem 3 Europe day 4 European motto 5 European currency 6 Draft European Union Constitution 7 See also 8 External links |
European flag
Main article: European flag The flag of Europe is twelve golden stars (pointing upwards) in a circle on a blue background.
Although the flag is most commonly associated with the European Union, it was initially used by the Council of Europe, and is thought to represent Europe as a whole as opposed to any particular organization such as the EU or the COE.
European anthem
The European anthem is based on the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's ninth symphony, which is based on Friedrich Schiller's ode An die Freude (Ode to Joy). Due to the large number of languages used in the European Union, the anthem is purely instrumental and has no lyrics. The anthem was originally adopted by the Council of Europe in 1972.
It is played on official occasions by the Council of Europe and the European Union.
Europe day
On 9 May 1950, Robert Schuman presented his proposal on the creation of an organised Europe, indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. This proposal, known as the "Schuman declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union. The EU promotes 9 May as a European symbol (Europe Day) along with the single currency (the euro), the flag and the anthem, identifing the political entity of the European Union. Europe Day aims at being the occasion for activities and festivities that bring Europe closer to its citizens and peoples of the Union closer to one another. Europe Day Like the flag and the anthem, Europe Day is an appropriation from the Council of Europe which has celebrated its founding on 5 May 1949 as Europe Day since 1964. What is now the European Union adopted 9 May at the Milan summit in 1985. Some Europeans still prefer 5 May, since the Council of Europe was designed to defend human rights, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law, while the Schuman speech was proposing a sharing of French and German coal and steel.
European motto
The European motto was first established through an unofficial process in 2000. Unity in diversity (Latin: In varietate concordia) was selected from entries proposed by school pupils submitted to the website http://www.devise-europe.org/, and then accepted by the President of the European Parliament, Nicole Fontaine. Subsequently, a slight modification, United in diversity, has been written into the draft European constitution and now appears on EU websites.
In the official languages of the Union
- Czech - Jednotnost v různorodosti
- Danish - Forenet i mangfoldighed
- Dutch - Eenheid in verscheidenheid
- English - United in diversity
- Estonian - UEhtsus erinevuses
- Finnish - Erilaisuudessaan yhdistynyt
- French - Unie dans la diversite
- German - In Vielfalt geeint
- Greek - Ενότητα στην πολυµορφία
- Hungarian - Egyseg a sokfelesegben
- Irish - Aontaithe in iliocht
- Italian - Unita nella diversita
- Latvian - Vienotība dažhādībā
- Lithuanian - Vienybė įvairialypiškume
- Maltese - Maghqudin fid-diversita
- Polish - Jedność w rożnorodności
- Portuguese - Unidade na diversidade
- Slovakian - Jednota v rozdielnosti
- Slovene - Združeni v raznolikosti
- Spanish - Unidos en la diversidad
- Swedish - Foerenat i mangfalden
In other languages used by EU citizens
- Basque - ??
- Catalan - ??
- Esperanto - Unuiĝinte je diverseco
- Scottish Gaelic - ??
- Welsh - Yng glym mewn gwahaniaeth
European currency
Main article: Euro. The euro (EUR or €) is the currency of twelve of the twenty-five countries that form the European Union, as well as some countries outside it. A euro is divided into 100 cents. All euro coins have a common side showing the worth and a national side showing an image particular to the country it was issued in. Euro banknotes have a common design for each denomination on both sides. All the different coins can be used in all the participating member states.
The United Kingdom still uses Pound Sterling (GBP or £), Sweden uses Krona (SEK) and Denmark uses Krone (DKK). The ten accession states that joined the EU on 1st May 2004 currently still use their own national currencies.
Draft European Union Constitution
The Convention on the Future of Europe proposes in its draft European constitution, July 18, 2003:
Article IV-1
The symbols of the Union.The flag of the Union shall be a circle of twelve golden stars on a blue background.
The anthem of the Union shall be based on the Ode to Joy (An die Freude) from the Ninth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven.
The motto of the Union shall be: United in diversity (in varietate concordia).
The currency of the Union shall be the euro.
9 May shall be celebrated throughout the Union as Europe day.
See also
External links
European flag
European anthem
- The European Anthem and downloads - Council of Europe website
- The European Anthem - European Commission website
Europe day
- Good background by the European Commission Representation in the United Kingdom
- Apparently the Europe day UK misses content...
- Report from a Europe day in the Netherlands
European motto
- Draft European constitution, July 18, 2003, Article IV-1, The symbols of the Union. (It's on top of p222 in all languages but Swedish.)
- Une devise pour l'Europe
- A nice picture (link down)
- The EU at a glance (official EU site)
- The European motto (Eurominority site)
