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”.


36-Year-Old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Attempts to Control Time by Freezing Her Eggs
Potential Contamination from Mexico Triggers Salsa Recall from Walmart, Target, Kroger
Fauci discussed COVID mRNA vaccine concerns for pregnant women in text chain released by Senate committee
Board of Peace undeterred by Israel’s rejection of peace plan at this stage
Trump announces aide will soon step into White House counsel post
FBI investigated then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions one day after Comey’s firing, declassified documents show
Op-Ed: Make Families Self-Sufficient Again
WJ Straw Poll: Rubio Remains the Man to Beat as Thomas Massie Gains Ground
Socialist leader squirms during TV interview when forced to address push to abolish prisons, police
Spencer Pratt praises fierce GOP foe in rare bipartisan turn: ‘Major props’
Missing American woman in Grenada may have drowned after swimming far offshore, husband says
A Southern state just took the top spot in one of the world’s fastest-growing industries
Dem rep, in first video since hit-and-run crash, opens up about wreck
Great-grandson of slaves has warning about Smithsonian’s anti-American ‘indoctrination’ and more top headlines
Kentucky middle school teacher accused of crossing the line with student, arrested under new anti-grooming law
See also  ‘Oxferd Comma’ investigation being declassified by White House, with John Solomon briefing

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.


36-Year-Old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Attempts to Control Time by Freezing Her Eggs
Potential Contamination from Mexico Triggers Salsa Recall from Walmart, Target, Kroger
Fauci discussed COVID mRNA vaccine concerns for pregnant women in text chain released by Senate committee
Board of Peace undeterred by Israel’s rejection of peace plan at this stage
Trump announces aide will soon step into White House counsel post
FBI investigated then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions one day after Comey’s firing, declassified documents show
Op-Ed: Make Families Self-Sufficient Again
WJ Straw Poll: Rubio Remains the Man to Beat as Thomas Massie Gains Ground
Socialist leader squirms during TV interview when forced to address push to abolish prisons, police
Spencer Pratt praises fierce GOP foe in rare bipartisan turn: ‘Major props’
Missing American woman in Grenada may have drowned after swimming far offshore, husband says
A Southern state just took the top spot in one of the world’s fastest-growing industries
Dem rep, in first video since hit-and-run crash, opens up about wreck
Great-grandson of slaves has warning about Smithsonian’s anti-American ‘indoctrination’ and more top headlines
Kentucky middle school teacher accused of crossing the line with student, arrested under new anti-grooming law
See also  AOC freezes her eggs: ‘I think it’s bada**’

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.


36-Year-Old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Attempts to Control Time by Freezing Her Eggs
Potential Contamination from Mexico Triggers Salsa Recall from Walmart, Target, Kroger
Fauci discussed COVID mRNA vaccine concerns for pregnant women in text chain released by Senate committee
Board of Peace undeterred by Israel’s rejection of peace plan at this stage
Trump announces aide will soon step into White House counsel post
FBI investigated then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions one day after Comey’s firing, declassified documents show
Op-Ed: Make Families Self-Sufficient Again
WJ Straw Poll: Rubio Remains the Man to Beat as Thomas Massie Gains Ground
Socialist leader squirms during TV interview when forced to address push to abolish prisons, police
Spencer Pratt praises fierce GOP foe in rare bipartisan turn: ‘Major props’
Missing American woman in Grenada may have drowned after swimming far offshore, husband says
A Southern state just took the top spot in one of the world’s fastest-growing industries
Dem rep, in first video since hit-and-run crash, opens up about wreck
Great-grandson of slaves has warning about Smithsonian’s anti-American ‘indoctrination’ and more top headlines
Kentucky middle school teacher accused of crossing the line with student, arrested under new anti-grooming law

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