Fact-checking Antonio Tajani's interpretation of the European flag

Euronews

14-07-2025

A social media post by Antonio Tajani, Italy's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, has sparked debate around the origins and symbolism of the European flag.
Writing on X to mark 40 years since its official adoption as the European Union's emblem, Tajani described the flag as 'blue like the cloak of the Madonna, 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,' he added.
It has triggered a wave of reactions on social media, with users pointing out that the EU itself describes the flag as standing for 'the values and shared identity of millions of Europeans united in their diversity' and a 'symbol of unity, democracy, and peace".
It's not the first time Antonio Tajani has made the claim. Euroverify detected a further two posts on X, in 2013 and 2021, in which he associates the colour blue with the Virgin Mary's mantle and the stars with the 12 tribes of Israel.
One historian told Euroverify that Tajani's interpretation is 'essentially incorrect".
The search for a 'secular' flag
The search for a European flag began in the 1950s when the Council of Europe — the Strasbourg-based human rights organisation which includes 46 member states, and which is not an EU institution — began considering dozens of proposals.
Those proposals have been preserved and archived on the Council of Europe's website, which specifies that several designs were rejected because of their religious overtones, such as references to the Virgin Mary.
'These were set aside to keep the flag secular,' the website states.
The Council of Europe eventually short-listed two options, one of which was the circle of 12 yellow stars on a blue background, proposed by a member of staff named Arsène Heitz.
Heitz's proposal was adopted by the Council of Europe's committee of ministers in 1955.
Three decades later, in 1983, the European Parliament decided to adopt the same flag as the symbol of the European Communities, which later became the European Union. That decision was approved by EU leaders in 1985.
According to the Council of Europe's website, the number of stars was chosen for its 'symbolism", representing 'harmony and perfection".
No official religious connotations
Piero Graglia, professor of history of international relations at the University of Milan, told Euroverify that Tajani's interpretation of the flag is 'incorrect'.
The number of stars, 12, was chosen because it represents 'perfection' and for its broader symbolic meaning in European culture, he explained, adding that the number carries symbolism in ancient Greek philosophy, mathematics, as well as mythology.
'The Council of Europe, when it adopted the flag, said that the blue is a symbol of the Western sky at sunset, and the twelve stars represent perfection. This is the only acceptable interpretation,' he explained.
The European Union's official website describes the circle of 12 gold stars on a blue background as standing for the 'ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe". There is no reference to religious symbolism.
Yet, despite the Council of Europe saying it had discarded flag proposals because of their religious overtones in the 1950s, the institution does make an implicit reference to religious analogies in its description of the flag on its website.
It describes the number of stars, 12, as recalling 'the apostles, the sons of Jacob, the labours of Hercules, and the months of the year".
The sons of Jacob, who was the third of the three patriarchs of the Jewish people, are also known as the twelve tribes of Israel, which Tajani refers to in his statement on X.
Designer Heitz cited religious inspiration
While the flag itself is considered secular, its designer, Arsène Heitz, did cite religious inspiration.
According to Professor Graglia, it is known that a statue of the Virgin Mary in the cathedral of Strasbourg, where Heitz lived and worked, inspired his design. It bears a clear resemblance to the flag.
A 2004 article in the Economist also attributes a statement to Heitz in which he said he was inspired by a biblical verse from the Apocalypse of John, which refers to a "woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars".