“Blu as the Manto of the Madonna, with the 12 stars of the tribes of Israel arranged in a circle”. It is the interpretation of the Flag of the European Union by Antonio Tajani. The Foreign Minister and Vice premier has provided its own reconstruction of one of the symbols of the 27 member countries on social networks. However, the interpretation would not find official confirmations.
Tajani’s message
On 28-29 June 1985 the European Council, the meeting of the heads of state and government of the member countries, adopted the current flag as an official emblem of the European Community which later became the European Union. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary, the leader of Forza Italia then published a message to celebrate the anniversary: ”Forty years ago the European leaders chose the common flag of Europe”. For the minister, however, the elements used represent the “symbol of our values of freedom, of our Judaic-Christian roots”.
Forty years ago the European leaders chose the common flag of Europe. Blue like the Madonna mantle, with the 12 stars of the tribes of Israel arranged in a circle. A symbol of our values of freedom, of our Judaic-Christian roots. pic.twitter.com/kezkiothe2
– Antonio Tajani (@antonio_tajani) June 29, 2025
The previous one
Already in the past the minister had launched himself in such interpretations. Tajani had described the EU flag as follows: “They are twelve stars that surround the head of the Virgin, represent the twelve tribes of Israel, and the flag is blue because the cloak of the Virgin is blue”. A declaration to respond to some contemptuous comments of General Roberto Vannacci and the Northern Senator Roberto Borghi. For the first, Europe had an identity problem: “The EU has a problem: must build its own identity. The blue flag with many stars that identity wants to represent? We do not even have an animal to symbolize us. Russia has the bear, the use of eagle. And Europe?”. For the second, the obligation to exposure the flag outside and inside the public offices had to be canceled.
Fact checking
The Flag of the European Union is a legacy of the Council of Europe, an international organization for human rights that includes member countries but is not a community body. The Council has 46 Member States and adopted the flag with a blue background and twelve stars on December 8, 1955. Only 30 years later it also became a symbol of the European Union.
On the EU website, however, there is no reference to the Christian-Judaic subtext: “The European flag symbolizes both the European Union, and the unity and identity of Europe in general. The European flag consists of a circle of 12 golden stars on a blue background. The stars represent the ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe. The circle is also a symbol of unity, but the number of stars does not depend on the number of countries members “.
On the related page of the Council of Europe there is also talk of Christian references – “Remember the Apostles, the sons of Jacob” – but inserted in a much wider context and, to be honest, even pay: “On the background of the blue sky, the stars form a circle, to symbolize the union. The number of stars is fixed: twelve, a symbol of perfection and completeness, recalls the apostles, the children of Giacobbe, The months of the year, etc. “.
Tajani’s interpretation does not seem to find official confirmations in the documents of the European Union but seems to be based on what has been reported in retrospect by the designer who created the flag, Airsne Heitz. To the latter, in an article of the The Economist In 2004, a declaration is attributed in which he said he was inspired by a song by the Apocalypse of Giovanni, 12: 1: “In the sky a grandiose sign appeared in the sky: a woman dressed in sun, with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars”.
