International News Opinons Politics

German Federal Council Passes Bill Giving Three Years in Prison for Denigrating EU Flag

The German Bundesrat, the upper chamber of the German parliament, has proposed banning Germans from denigrating both the European Union flag and anthem.

The Bundesrat, which is composed of delegates from the German states, passed a bill that could see individuals who either denigrate the EU flag or the EU anthem, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, punished with a fine or up to three years in prison, Die Welt reports.

German newspaper Saarbrücken Zeitung obtained a draft of the law earlier this year that urged law enforcement agencies “to take firm and effective action against those whose aim is to disparage the fundamental values ​​of the European Union”.


The draft continued, stating that violations would also cover attacks “on the reputation of the symbols of the European Union”.


Police rescue 60 cats and kittens from abandoned sailboat off Washington beach after 6-day operation
Ex-officer accused in New Orleans mass shooting plot released without charges
Lifelong Lib Chris Matthews Goes Scorched Earth on Far-Left Dems, DSA Members: ‘I’m Not with This Crowd’
Convicted rapist who preyed on women at America’s top party school faces reckoning after courthouse dash
LA Lakers Sold to Ex-Disney CEO and Jared Kushner’s Brother for Record-Breaking Price
Texas judge accused of ‘doxxing’ political critic faces federal lawsuit, growing push to oust him from office
Unearthed interview exposes Dem senator’s past support for reparations: ‘There is a debt unpaid’
Always Watch the Eyes: Video Shows DSA Co-Chair Fall Apart When Asked Exactly Who She Wants to Tax More
DOJ Busts Massive International Sham Marriage Scheme, 1,000 Weddings to ‘Fraudulently Obtain Immigration Status’
ICE eyes $20M purchase of electric shock gloves as Hochul warns of legal consequences
FBI ran secret operation to extinguish Biden family foreign influence scandal: Declassified documents
Fox News Poll: New matchup, same result: Maine Senate race stays locked
Here’s who could replace White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt
New York Social Services Worker Charged With Issuing Multiple Benefit Cards to Herself
Hasan Piker cheers Mamdani aide going ‘beast mode’ with ‘impoverish the White middle-class’ remark
See also  AOC freezes her eggs: ‘I think it’s bada**’

The newly passed bill must now be ratified by the Bundestag, although no date for a vote on the matter has been scheduled so far.

Germany has laws on the books that outlaw the denigration of foreign flags and national emblems but so far, the European Union’s flag and symbols have not been recognised under the laws.


Police rescue 60 cats and kittens from abandoned sailboat off Washington beach after 6-day operation
Ex-officer accused in New Orleans mass shooting plot released without charges
Lifelong Lib Chris Matthews Goes Scorched Earth on Far-Left Dems, DSA Members: ‘I’m Not with This Crowd’
Convicted rapist who preyed on women at America’s top party school faces reckoning after courthouse dash
LA Lakers Sold to Ex-Disney CEO and Jared Kushner’s Brother for Record-Breaking Price
Texas judge accused of ‘doxxing’ political critic faces federal lawsuit, growing push to oust him from office
Unearthed interview exposes Dem senator’s past support for reparations: ‘There is a debt unpaid’
Always Watch the Eyes: Video Shows DSA Co-Chair Fall Apart When Asked Exactly Who She Wants to Tax More
DOJ Busts Massive International Sham Marriage Scheme, 1,000 Weddings to ‘Fraudulently Obtain Immigration Status’
ICE eyes $20M purchase of electric shock gloves as Hochul warns of legal consequences
FBI ran secret operation to extinguish Biden family foreign influence scandal: Declassified documents
Fox News Poll: New matchup, same result: Maine Senate race stays locked
Here’s who could replace White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt
New York Social Services Worker Charged With Issuing Multiple Benefit Cards to Herself
Hasan Piker cheers Mamdani aide going ‘beast mode’ with ‘impoverish the White middle-class’ remark
See also  FBI investigated then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions one day after Comey’s firing, declassified documents show

The country also has laws against insulting foreign heads of state, a law that nearly saw the prosecution of left-wing comedian Jan Böhmermann in 2016 over an offensive poem about Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that was later banned by a German court.

While charges were initiated against Böhmermann, they were later dropped, with Chancellor Angela Merkel even admitting that she had made an “error” in viewing the poem as “deliberately insulting”.

In neighbouring France, the government has forced schools across the country to start flying the EU flag alongside the French tricolore.

The move was part of educational reforms enacted by French president Emmanuel Macron that also lowered the age of compulsory school entry from six to three years old.


Police rescue 60 cats and kittens from abandoned sailboat off Washington beach after 6-day operation
Ex-officer accused in New Orleans mass shooting plot released without charges
Lifelong Lib Chris Matthews Goes Scorched Earth on Far-Left Dems, DSA Members: ‘I’m Not with This Crowd’
Convicted rapist who preyed on women at America’s top party school faces reckoning after courthouse dash
LA Lakers Sold to Ex-Disney CEO and Jared Kushner’s Brother for Record-Breaking Price
Texas judge accused of ‘doxxing’ political critic faces federal lawsuit, growing push to oust him from office
Unearthed interview exposes Dem senator’s past support for reparations: ‘There is a debt unpaid’
Always Watch the Eyes: Video Shows DSA Co-Chair Fall Apart When Asked Exactly Who She Wants to Tax More
DOJ Busts Massive International Sham Marriage Scheme, 1,000 Weddings to ‘Fraudulently Obtain Immigration Status’
ICE eyes $20M purchase of electric shock gloves as Hochul warns of legal consequences
FBI ran secret operation to extinguish Biden family foreign influence scandal: Declassified documents
Fox News Poll: New matchup, same result: Maine Senate race stays locked
Here’s who could replace White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt
New York Social Services Worker Charged With Issuing Multiple Benefit Cards to Herself
Hasan Piker cheers Mamdani aide going ‘beast mode’ with ‘impoverish the White middle-class’ remark

Story cited here.

See also  Don Lemon moves to dismiss case over Minnesota church protest on selective and vindictive prosecution claims
Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter