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”.


Burglar Armed with Submachine Gun Raids Missouri House: The Homeowner Sent Him Home in a Body Bag
Police Called to Kamala Harris’s Malibu Mansion After Unknown Woman ‘Illegally Entered’
Black conservative reveals how GOP can lock down minority voters without Trump on ballot
Sweden’s right-wing government hoping nationalist-populist allies will hold back left-wing coalition
Wisconsin GOP governor candidate swims from sinking plane after emergency lake landing
Man accused in brutal motel stabbing sought as person of interest in 4 deaths, child attack
Florida woman accused of setting stranger on fire at gas station, leaving horrific burns
Knife-wielding man races at officer in packed seaside park before one deadly shot rings out: video
Uninvited woman enters Kamala Harris’ Malibu property prompting sheriff response: reports
Son of notorious Somali dictator reportedly living in Ohio decades after brutal regime’s collapse
The Fentanyl Crisis May Be Coming to an End But Kratom Is Ready to Take It’s Place
Video Puts US Military Power on Full Display, Shows Total Missile-Strike Destruction of Iran Tankers
Sick: At 9:11 PM on 25th Anniversary of 9/11, Man Runs on Field at Yankee Stadium With Palestinian Flag
Nuns Fight Back Against Law Forcing Them to Help Patients Kill Themselves
Outrageous Taxation Has Destroyed American Lives Going Back Decades
See also  Mamdani greets America’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani despite calls to skip 9/11 memorial

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.


Burglar Armed with Submachine Gun Raids Missouri House: The Homeowner Sent Him Home in a Body Bag
Police Called to Kamala Harris’s Malibu Mansion After Unknown Woman ‘Illegally Entered’
Black conservative reveals how GOP can lock down minority voters without Trump on ballot
Sweden’s right-wing government hoping nationalist-populist allies will hold back left-wing coalition
Wisconsin GOP governor candidate swims from sinking plane after emergency lake landing
Man accused in brutal motel stabbing sought as person of interest in 4 deaths, child attack
Florida woman accused of setting stranger on fire at gas station, leaving horrific burns
Knife-wielding man races at officer in packed seaside park before one deadly shot rings out: video
Uninvited woman enters Kamala Harris’ Malibu property prompting sheriff response: reports
Son of notorious Somali dictator reportedly living in Ohio decades after brutal regime’s collapse
The Fentanyl Crisis May Be Coming to an End But Kratom Is Ready to Take It’s Place
Video Puts US Military Power on Full Display, Shows Total Missile-Strike Destruction of Iran Tankers
Sick: At 9:11 PM on 25th Anniversary of 9/11, Man Runs on Field at Yankee Stadium With Palestinian Flag
Nuns Fight Back Against Law Forcing Them to Help Patients Kill Themselves
Outrageous Taxation Has Destroyed American Lives Going Back Decades
See also  National Cryptologic Museum unveils historic Osama bin Laden exhibit

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.


Burglar Armed with Submachine Gun Raids Missouri House: The Homeowner Sent Him Home in a Body Bag
Police Called to Kamala Harris’s Malibu Mansion After Unknown Woman ‘Illegally Entered’
Black conservative reveals how GOP can lock down minority voters without Trump on ballot
Sweden’s right-wing government hoping nationalist-populist allies will hold back left-wing coalition
Wisconsin GOP governor candidate swims from sinking plane after emergency lake landing
Man accused in brutal motel stabbing sought as person of interest in 4 deaths, child attack
Florida woman accused of setting stranger on fire at gas station, leaving horrific burns
Knife-wielding man races at officer in packed seaside park before one deadly shot rings out: video
Uninvited woman enters Kamala Harris’ Malibu property prompting sheriff response: reports
Son of notorious Somali dictator reportedly living in Ohio decades after brutal regime’s collapse
The Fentanyl Crisis May Be Coming to an End But Kratom Is Ready to Take It’s Place
Video Puts US Military Power on Full Display, Shows Total Missile-Strike Destruction of Iran Tankers
Sick: At 9:11 PM on 25th Anniversary of 9/11, Man Runs on Field at Yankee Stadium With Palestinian Flag
Nuns Fight Back Against Law Forcing Them to Help Patients Kill Themselves
Outrageous Taxation Has Destroyed American Lives Going Back Decades

Story cited here.

See also  Kansas Republicans buck Trump over threat to blacklist Canadian jets
Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter