Luxembourg · 30 years of the EU flag

Issue date2 Dec 2015

Total mintage510,000

EU maximum1,400,000

Editions3

Edge lettering2 ★ ★ × 6, alternating upright/inverted

InscriptionLËTZEBUERG / 1985-2015

DesignerGeorgios Stamatopoulos

mintKoninklijke Nederlandse Munt, Utrecht

Issue occasion

The commemorative coin marks the thirtieth anniversary of the EU flag. The design depicts the flag as a symbol of the connection between peoples and cultures sharing common ideas and ideals; twelve stars take the form of people and welcome the birth of a new Europe. The inscription “LËTZEBUERG”, the years “1985-2015”, the mint mark and the initials of the designer Georgios Stamatopoulos are also shown.

The design

The design depicts the EU flag as a symbol bringing together peoples and cultures with shared ideas and ideals to shape a better future. Twelve stars take on the form of people and welcome the birth of a new Europe. At the top right, along the coin ring, the issuing country “LËTZEBUERG” and the years “1985-2015” can be seen. The mint mark is located between the flag and the years. The designer’s initials (Georgios Stamatopoulos) are shown at the bottom right.

The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer coin ring.

Background on the topic

The European flag was not originally created as a symbol of the European Union. The Council of Europe (Europarat), an international organisation founded in 1949 and independent of the EU, adopted the emblem in 1955. It shows a circle of twelve golden stars on a blue background. The number twelve refers neither to the number of member states at the time nor to any later number of member states. It was chosen as an established symbol of unity and solidarity. Therefore, the number of stars remained unchanged even during the enlargements of the European Communities and the European Union.

In the 1980s, the European Communities sought common symbols that would be more easily recognisable to the public. At the initiative of the European Parliament and following the approval of the Council of Europe (Europarat), the heads of state and government of the Communities adopted the flag in 1985. It was used by the European institutions from 1986 onwards. With the establishment of the European Union by the Maastricht Treaty (Vertrag von Maastricht), it entered general use as the EU flag without any changes to its design.

Legally, the flag and other European symbols are not expressly established as official symbols in all EU treaties. The failed Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (Vertrag über eine Verfassung für Europa) would have explicitly mentioned them. This was omitted from the Treaty of Lisbon (Vertrag von Lissabon); however, several member states separately declared that they continued to regard the flag as an expression of their sense of belonging together. Regardless of this, it is firmly established in institutional and public use.

The coin issue referred to the adoption of the emblem by the European Communities in 1985. It was one of the common 2-euro issues of the euro area, for which all participating states use the same basic design and add only country-specific details. Previously, such common issues had been dedicated, among other things, to the Treaty of Rome (Römischer Vertrag), economic and monetary union, and euro cash. For the 2015 issue, the design was selected in a competition among European mints; a public online vote was then held between five preselected designs.