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”.
US Chamber of Commerce accused of leading ‘woke corporate America’ as Trump dismantles DEI agenda
Congressional Democrats widen 2026 battlefield, zero in on new House Republican targets
Charlie Kirk’s New Book Rockets to Top of Bestseller List on Day 1 – Publisher Scrambles to Print More Copies
Deep Dive: No, the Jews Do Not Teach Jesus Is Being Boiled in Filth as a Punishment
Minnesota college administrator accused of impeding ICE arrest to protect student sexual predator
Democrats set expanded targets after surprise victories in Florida and Georgia
Fugitive repeat offender keeps walking free as courts let him loose to hurt people, experts warn
Pro-Trump clerk convicted in 2020 election scheme threatened, attacked in prison, lawyer says
Thomas Massie introduces bill to pull US out of NATO: ‘America should not be the world’s security blanket’
Florida’s CAIR threatens lawsuit against DeSantis after he labels group a ‘foreign terrorist’ organization
Top US political figures lend legitimacy to Qatari forum allied with array of anti-American groups
3 people arrested after 7 Providence College students overdose at off-campus party
Trump says New York Times questioning his stamina could be ‘treasonous’
Trump mocks Ilhan Omar’s ‘turban’ in latest anti-Somali tirade
Trump compares real wages under his admin versus Biden’s during speech calling out Dem affordability ‘hoax’
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.
French Schools Forced to Fly EU Flags Beside Tricolore in Macron Reforms https://t.co/ViASDDRnCs
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 4, 2019
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.
US Chamber of Commerce accused of leading ‘woke corporate America’ as Trump dismantles DEI agenda
Congressional Democrats widen 2026 battlefield, zero in on new House Republican targets
Charlie Kirk’s New Book Rockets to Top of Bestseller List on Day 1 – Publisher Scrambles to Print More Copies
Deep Dive: No, the Jews Do Not Teach Jesus Is Being Boiled in Filth as a Punishment
Minnesota college administrator accused of impeding ICE arrest to protect student sexual predator
Democrats set expanded targets after surprise victories in Florida and Georgia
Fugitive repeat offender keeps walking free as courts let him loose to hurt people, experts warn
Pro-Trump clerk convicted in 2020 election scheme threatened, attacked in prison, lawyer says
Thomas Massie introduces bill to pull US out of NATO: ‘America should not be the world’s security blanket’
Florida’s CAIR threatens lawsuit against DeSantis after he labels group a ‘foreign terrorist’ organization
Top US political figures lend legitimacy to Qatari forum allied with array of anti-American groups
3 people arrested after 7 Providence College students overdose at off-campus party
Trump says New York Times questioning his stamina could be ‘treasonous’
Trump mocks Ilhan Omar’s ‘turban’ in latest anti-Somali tirade
Trump compares real wages under his admin versus Biden’s during speech calling out Dem affordability ‘hoax’
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.
US Chamber of Commerce accused of leading ‘woke corporate America’ as Trump dismantles DEI agenda
Congressional Democrats widen 2026 battlefield, zero in on new House Republican targets
Charlie Kirk’s New Book Rockets to Top of Bestseller List on Day 1 – Publisher Scrambles to Print More Copies
Deep Dive: No, the Jews Do Not Teach Jesus Is Being Boiled in Filth as a Punishment
Minnesota college administrator accused of impeding ICE arrest to protect student sexual predator
Democrats set expanded targets after surprise victories in Florida and Georgia
Fugitive repeat offender keeps walking free as courts let him loose to hurt people, experts warn
Pro-Trump clerk convicted in 2020 election scheme threatened, attacked in prison, lawyer says
Thomas Massie introduces bill to pull US out of NATO: ‘America should not be the world’s security blanket’
Florida’s CAIR threatens lawsuit against DeSantis after he labels group a ‘foreign terrorist’ organization
Top US political figures lend legitimacy to Qatari forum allied with array of anti-American groups
3 people arrested after 7 Providence College students overdose at off-campus party
Trump says New York Times questioning his stamina could be ‘treasonous’
Trump mocks Ilhan Omar’s ‘turban’ in latest anti-Somali tirade
Trump compares real wages under his admin versus Biden’s during speech calling out Dem affordability ‘hoax’
‘Our Country Is France, Not the EU!‘: EU Flag Compulsory in All Classrooms https://t.co/0C0V8rxmaW
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 14, 2019
Story cited here.
