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”.


Mamdani’s openness to campaigning with Hochul shows how far they’ve come
DOJ threatens California with lawsuit over ‘unbroken pattern’ of sexual abuse in women’s prisons
Slain NJ mom Brooke Hanlon’s family backs investigators two months after her stabbing death
Postpartum mom Lindsay Clancy on trial for murder brings court to a halt with sudden breakdown
Trump State Department Axes Biden-Era Initiative That Sought to Spread DEI Around the World
Why She Left: Details of Karoline Leavitt’s (Not So) Abrupt Departure and Just How Much Trump Adores Her
California Dem ripped for ‘perverted agenda’ ahead of fundraiser at risqué nightclub
GOP congressman’s ex-wife sues, alleging sensitive image of 2-year-old daughter was posted online
Extremism expert hailed as ‘terrific’ by ex-Biden official slapped with federal charges
Florida State University hit with federal civil rights investigation over race, sex-based scholarship programs
Dinesh D’Souza Shows the Truth of the Bible Through Biblical Archaeology
What is a special grand jury? Latest Jeanine Pirro move stirs up questions
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’
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.


Mamdani’s openness to campaigning with Hochul shows how far they’ve come
DOJ threatens California with lawsuit over ‘unbroken pattern’ of sexual abuse in women’s prisons
Slain NJ mom Brooke Hanlon’s family backs investigators two months after her stabbing death
Postpartum mom Lindsay Clancy on trial for murder brings court to a halt with sudden breakdown
Trump State Department Axes Biden-Era Initiative That Sought to Spread DEI Around the World
Why She Left: Details of Karoline Leavitt’s (Not So) Abrupt Departure and Just How Much Trump Adores Her
California Dem ripped for ‘perverted agenda’ ahead of fundraiser at risqué nightclub
GOP congressman’s ex-wife sues, alleging sensitive image of 2-year-old daughter was posted online
Extremism expert hailed as ‘terrific’ by ex-Biden official slapped with federal charges
Florida State University hit with federal civil rights investigation over race, sex-based scholarship programs
Dinesh D’Souza Shows the Truth of the Bible Through Biblical Archaeology
What is a special grand jury? Latest Jeanine Pirro move stirs up questions
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’
See also  Don Lemon moves to dismiss case over Minnesota church protest on selective and vindictive prosecution claims

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.


Mamdani’s openness to campaigning with Hochul shows how far they’ve come
DOJ threatens California with lawsuit over ‘unbroken pattern’ of sexual abuse in women’s prisons
Slain NJ mom Brooke Hanlon’s family backs investigators two months after her stabbing death
Postpartum mom Lindsay Clancy on trial for murder brings court to a halt with sudden breakdown
Trump State Department Axes Biden-Era Initiative That Sought to Spread DEI Around the World
Why She Left: Details of Karoline Leavitt’s (Not So) Abrupt Departure and Just How Much Trump Adores Her
California Dem ripped for ‘perverted agenda’ ahead of fundraiser at risqué nightclub
GOP congressman’s ex-wife sues, alleging sensitive image of 2-year-old daughter was posted online
Extremism expert hailed as ‘terrific’ by ex-Biden official slapped with federal charges
Florida State University hit with federal civil rights investigation over race, sex-based scholarship programs
Dinesh D’Souza Shows the Truth of the Bible Through Biblical Archaeology
What is a special grand jury? Latest Jeanine Pirro move stirs up questions
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’

Story cited here.

See also  FBI investigated then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions one day after Comey’s firing, declassified documents show
Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter