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”.


A cure for cancer would deliver $185T economic windfall, report says
Minnesota taxpayers on the hook for race-based teacher recruitment 
US conducts strike on another boat carrying suspected narco-traffickers, killing 6 people
Pennsylvania state trooper fatally shot during traffic stop, officials say
Before-and-after satellite imagery offers a rare look at damage inside Iran
Police recover third device in ongoing Manhattan IED investigation after two arrests
Police swarm NYC street Sunday amid IED probe near Gracie Mansion
GOP senators push back against Schumer’s ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ description of SAVE Act
NYPD confirms object thrown at protests near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan was an IED
Officials confirm devices recovered at NYC protest near Gracie Mansion were both IEDs
Pro-Islam counterprotester arrested after deploying explosive device outside Mamdani residence
Trump warns Iran’s new leader won’t ‘last long’ without his approval
Air Force veteran warns ‘cartels don’t collapse — they fracture’ after notorious drug lord killed
The unlikely tool Trump is eyeing to tackle rising oil prices amid the Iran conflict
Trump’s Name Will Be on the Tallest Tower in Australia as Trump’s Company Makes International Real Estate Move
See also  Natural gas prices surge worldwide as Iran conflict crimps supply

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.


A cure for cancer would deliver $185T economic windfall, report says
Minnesota taxpayers on the hook for race-based teacher recruitment 
US conducts strike on another boat carrying suspected narco-traffickers, killing 6 people
Pennsylvania state trooper fatally shot during traffic stop, officials say
Before-and-after satellite imagery offers a rare look at damage inside Iran
Police recover third device in ongoing Manhattan IED investigation after two arrests
Police swarm NYC street Sunday amid IED probe near Gracie Mansion
GOP senators push back against Schumer’s ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ description of SAVE Act
NYPD confirms object thrown at protests near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan was an IED
Officials confirm devices recovered at NYC protest near Gracie Mansion were both IEDs
Pro-Islam counterprotester arrested after deploying explosive device outside Mamdani residence
Trump warns Iran’s new leader won’t ‘last long’ without his approval
Air Force veteran warns ‘cartels don’t collapse — they fracture’ after notorious drug lord killed
The unlikely tool Trump is eyeing to tackle rising oil prices amid the Iran conflict
Trump’s Name Will Be on the Tallest Tower in Australia as Trump’s Company Makes International Real Estate Move
See also  UN nuclear watchdog says Iran nuclear site damaged in strikes

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.


A cure for cancer would deliver $185T economic windfall, report says
Minnesota taxpayers on the hook for race-based teacher recruitment 
US conducts strike on another boat carrying suspected narco-traffickers, killing 6 people
Pennsylvania state trooper fatally shot during traffic stop, officials say
Before-and-after satellite imagery offers a rare look at damage inside Iran
Police recover third device in ongoing Manhattan IED investigation after two arrests
Police swarm NYC street Sunday amid IED probe near Gracie Mansion
GOP senators push back against Schumer’s ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ description of SAVE Act
NYPD confirms object thrown at protests near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan was an IED
Officials confirm devices recovered at NYC protest near Gracie Mansion were both IEDs
Pro-Islam counterprotester arrested after deploying explosive device outside Mamdani residence
Trump warns Iran’s new leader won’t ‘last long’ without his approval
Air Force veteran warns ‘cartels don’t collapse — they fracture’ after notorious drug lord killed
The unlikely tool Trump is eyeing to tackle rising oil prices amid the Iran conflict
Trump’s Name Will Be on the Tallest Tower in Australia as Trump’s Company Makes International Real Estate Move

Story cited here.

See also  WATCH: House releases Bill and Hillary Clinton’s Epstein deposition videos
Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter