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European Union: Erroneous flags

Flag with wrong stars
Flag hoisted upsode down
Flags with wrong colours

See also:

European Union

Flag with wrong stars

Left: Flag of European Union with wrong stars - Image by António Martins, 27 May 2006
Right: Flag of European Union, correctly hoisted - Image by Željko Heimer, 1 May 2004

In The Times (London), 20 May 2005, there is a report of the meeting of Presidents Chirac of France and Kwasniewski of Poland and Chancellor Schröder of Germany in Nancy to encourage support for a "yes" vote in the French referendum on the proposed European Constitution. The article was accompanied by a photo of children waving European flags.
Except that they weren't European flags, because they showed the error of having the stars facing outwards from the centre rather than all being upright.

André Coutanche, 9 June 2005

Flag hoisted upside down

Left: Flag of European Union hoisted upside down - Image by António Martins, 27 May 2006
Right: Flag of European Union, correctly hoisted - Image by Željko Heimer, 1 May 2004

It is not uncommon to see the European flag hoisted upside down. Most people I have pointed this out to (both in the U.K. and in France) seem to have difficulty understanding how a circle of stars can be upside down, and simply do not register the downward-pointing stars. Of course, if the stars really were outward-facing, then this would not arise.

I have observed upside-down European Union flags on previous occasions in the United Kingdom, France and Hungary - and at an European Union official meeting! (the observations being either personal or on TV).
The World, BBC4 tv, 8 June 2005, had a piece about Angela Merkel, the CDU leader and candidate for the Chancellorship; the general "background" to the story showed an upside down European Union flag, but it wasn't clear where the offending flag was flying^[1].

André Coutanche, 9 June 2005

[1] Considering the flag next to it is the "Federal service flag", which is used on Federal offices only, and not on any official building, the place could be a Federal ministry, an embassy or somesuch.

Santiago Dotor, 9 June 2005

Last November, the First Space Council was held in Brussels. Quoting the official report:

A total of 27 ministers from across Europe came together to discuss the development of a European space policy, designed to provide a coherent and integrated system by which space based technology can be designed and developed to benefit both member states and the European Union as a whole.

The picture shows European Space Agency Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and European Commissioner Günter Verheugen holding up a framed European Union flag. According to the Belgian monthly Athena (No. 208, February 2005), this flag had been aboard the International Space Station.
Pity that the flag had the stars pointing down.

Jan Mertens, 30 August 2005

Flags with wrong colours

European Union flag with inverted colours - Image by Jan Patrick Fischer, 19 August 2005

During the World Youth Day in Cologne, someone had a stick with a European Union flag with blue stars and yellow field.

Jan Patrick Fischer, 19 August 2005

European Union flag with white stars - Image by António Martins, 27 May 2006

An official board publicizing Portuguese State and European Union budgeting in some bus company investment, symbolized by the respective flags, shows the European Union flag with white stars.

António Martins, 27 May 2006