30 Years of the European Flag

The EU flag as a symbol bringing peoples and cultures together around shared values and ideals in building a better future. Twelve stars take on human form, welcoming the birth of a new Europe. Along the upper right of the coin ring, the issuing state "REPUBBLICA ITALIANA" and the dates "1985–2015" are engraved. The mint mark sits to the right between the flag and the dates. The designer's initials (Georgios Stamatopoulos) appear at lower right.

Fourth joint issue of the European Union. All 19 euro-area states are issuing a coin with the same design on varying dates. The coins differ only in the inscription, which appears in each country's national language.

On 29 May 1986, the blue flag with twelve gold stars was officially introduced as the emblem of the European Community - a symbol originally developed by the Council of Europe in 1955 to represent the unity of the peoples of Europe. The twelve stars do not stand for any particular number of members, but are regarded as a sign of completeness and perfection, rooted in European cultural tradition. Over the following decades, the flag became the most widely recognised emblem of European institutions - from Brussels to Rome, it appears on buildings, passports and treaties alike.

Italy is one of the founding states of the European Community: with the Treaty of Rome, the country signed the foundation of today's European project in 1957. Italy's integration into the European project was, from the outset, politically and economically formative - not least because post-war democracy saw the European alliance as a guarantee of stability. To mark the 30th anniversary of the flag's official introduction, all eurozone states jointly issued a commemorative coin in 2015, honouring this founding moment.