The Flag

The circle of twelve golden stars on a blue background is the flag and emblem of the EU and the Council of Europe.

It was first adopted by the Council of Europe in 1955 when it was designed to represent the whole of Europe but now is used also by European Union as they both represent the European Unity.

According to the description given by the Council of Europe, the dark blue represents the western world, the stars represent the peoples of Europe in a circular symbol of unity and the twelve stars symbolises the completeness and perfection for all the people, including those outside Europe.

As it is the symbol of the EU the flag appears on driving licenses, euro banknotes and euro coins. It is used in every official speech made by the President of the European Council, at sporting events and at official meetings between the leaders of an EU country and non-member state.

An extraordinary flying of the flag is on Europe day, celebrated annually on 9 May.

The Anthem

The melody that represents EU comes from the Ninth Symphony composed on 1823 by Ludwig Beethoven.

It is based on the prelude to the “Ode to Joy”, the 4th movement of the symphony, written in 1785 by Friedrich von Schiller and set to music by Beethoven.

In 1972 the music was adopted by the Council of Europe and later on, in 1985, it was adopted by EU heads of State as the official anthem of the European Union with the intent of celebrating the values all the member states share.
As it would be difficult to incorporate the large number of European languages into one anthem it doesn’t have any words, instead it uses the universal language of music to express the ideals of freedom, peace and solidarity.

In addition there are other classical melodies that represent Europe, such as the prelude of Te Deum used as European Broadcasting Union hymn and also the UEFA Champions League Anthem.

Europe Day

It is the annual celebration of peace and unity in Europe taking place on both 5 and 9 May due to the differences between Council of Europe and European Union.

The 5th of May is the day of the Council of Europe foundation and the 9th May is, instead, the date of the Schuman Declaration.

The 9th May is celebrated in different ways across the European Union, although it is generally not observed in the United Kingdom because of general euro-scepticism.

The Motto

“Unity in Diversity”

The motto was adopted in 2000 following an unofficial process that involved proposals by school pupils being submitted to an institutional web site and chosen by the President of the European Parliament, Nicole Fontaine.

Unity in diversity was created by the EU and is not related to the Council of Europe.
Written into the English language version of the failed European Constitution, it now appears on official EU websites and is translated in 23 official languages.

European Year

Each year the European Union decides to dedicate the following 12 months to a specific theme.

2011 is the European Year for Volunteering. You can find lots of information relating to events and projects across Europe which you can participate in at the European Year 2011 website.

Some of the recent European years have been:

2010: European Year for Combatting Poverty and Social Exclusion
2009: European Year of Creativity
2008: European Year of Intercultural Dialogue
2007: European Year of Equal Opportunities for All
2006: European Year of Workers’ Mobility
2005: European Year of Citizenship through Education

Population

European Population: 493 million (on 1 January 2008)
World Population: 6.76 billion (est. on February 2009)

The EU’s population is 7.3% of the world total and, considering that it covers just 3% of the earth’s land, European Union is one of the most densely populated regions of the world.

The population is projected to increase to 521 million in 2035, partly due to immigration occurring in most of the member states, and then gradually decline to 506 million in 2060. For the next 50 years the annual number of births is projected to fall, a situation that combined with an increasing number of survivors to higher ages, will contribute to an ageing process that would occur in all member states bringing the 30% of the population to be aged 65 or more.