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”.


Share of Canadians Taking Their Own Lives with Assisted Suicide Gets Disturbingly High
How Charlie Kirk Inspired ‘The Five’ Panelists to Start a Morning Bible Study
Five sleeper races that could upend 2026 – from Pennsylvania’s Alleghenies to New Mexico
Judge gives ‘green light’ to controversial New York driver’s license law in blow to Trump admin
New Trump admin envoy says US won’t ‘conquer’ Greenland, emphasizes talks with locals as Denmark balks at move
FBI violent crime arrests double in Trump’s first year compared to Biden record: ‘Massive strides’
Trump admin sues Illinois Gov. Pritzker over laws shielding migrants from courthouse arrests
Trump to deploy 350 National Guard troops to New Orleans in crime crackdown
PA man charged with attempting to make weapons of mass destruction after neighbor tip
Developing: Mass Casualty Event Declared at Pennsylvania Nursing Home After Suspected Gas Explosion – Please Pray
4 indicted in foiled New Year’s Eve terror bombing plot targeting Southern California businesses
Breaking: FBI Confirms Epstein Letter to Larry Nassar Implicating Trump Is a Complete Fake
Texts after Anna Kepner’s mysterious cruise ship death show family scrambling to clamp down on info
Blue City Paradise: Seattle Woman, 75, Now Partially Blind After Board with Screw Protruding Was Slammed Into Her Head – Suspect Arrested 8 Times in 2025 Alone
Christmastime ICE Operation ‘Angel’s Honor’ nets child rapist, torturer
See also  Heritage Foundation staffers quit and join Mike Pence foundation

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.


Share of Canadians Taking Their Own Lives with Assisted Suicide Gets Disturbingly High
How Charlie Kirk Inspired ‘The Five’ Panelists to Start a Morning Bible Study
Five sleeper races that could upend 2026 – from Pennsylvania’s Alleghenies to New Mexico
Judge gives ‘green light’ to controversial New York driver’s license law in blow to Trump admin
New Trump admin envoy says US won’t ‘conquer’ Greenland, emphasizes talks with locals as Denmark balks at move
FBI violent crime arrests double in Trump’s first year compared to Biden record: ‘Massive strides’
Trump admin sues Illinois Gov. Pritzker over laws shielding migrants from courthouse arrests
Trump to deploy 350 National Guard troops to New Orleans in crime crackdown
PA man charged with attempting to make weapons of mass destruction after neighbor tip
Developing: Mass Casualty Event Declared at Pennsylvania Nursing Home After Suspected Gas Explosion – Please Pray
4 indicted in foiled New Year’s Eve terror bombing plot targeting Southern California businesses
Breaking: FBI Confirms Epstein Letter to Larry Nassar Implicating Trump Is a Complete Fake
Texts after Anna Kepner’s mysterious cruise ship death show family scrambling to clamp down on info
Blue City Paradise: Seattle Woman, 75, Now Partially Blind After Board with Screw Protruding Was Slammed Into Her Head – Suspect Arrested 8 Times in 2025 Alone
Christmastime ICE Operation ‘Angel’s Honor’ nets child rapist, torturer
See also  Trump administration installing 900-mile wall of buoys in Rio Grande

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.


Share of Canadians Taking Their Own Lives with Assisted Suicide Gets Disturbingly High
How Charlie Kirk Inspired ‘The Five’ Panelists to Start a Morning Bible Study
Five sleeper races that could upend 2026 – from Pennsylvania’s Alleghenies to New Mexico
Judge gives ‘green light’ to controversial New York driver’s license law in blow to Trump admin
New Trump admin envoy says US won’t ‘conquer’ Greenland, emphasizes talks with locals as Denmark balks at move
FBI violent crime arrests double in Trump’s first year compared to Biden record: ‘Massive strides’
Trump admin sues Illinois Gov. Pritzker over laws shielding migrants from courthouse arrests
Trump to deploy 350 National Guard troops to New Orleans in crime crackdown
PA man charged with attempting to make weapons of mass destruction after neighbor tip
Developing: Mass Casualty Event Declared at Pennsylvania Nursing Home After Suspected Gas Explosion – Please Pray
4 indicted in foiled New Year’s Eve terror bombing plot targeting Southern California businesses
Breaking: FBI Confirms Epstein Letter to Larry Nassar Implicating Trump Is a Complete Fake
Texts after Anna Kepner’s mysterious cruise ship death show family scrambling to clamp down on info
Blue City Paradise: Seattle Woman, 75, Now Partially Blind After Board with Screw Protruding Was Slammed Into Her Head – Suspect Arrested 8 Times in 2025 Alone
Christmastime ICE Operation ‘Angel’s Honor’ nets child rapist, torturer

Story cited here.

See also  As illicit vapes flood the country, authorities ramp up enforcement
Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter