Italy. Liguria Region. Ospedaletti. Christmas day. An european flag on the catholic church at sunset. The Flag of Europe, or European Flag, is the official symbol representing Europe. Consisting of a circle of 12 golden (yellow) stars on an azure background, it was first adopted in 1955 by the Council of Europe (CoE) to represent the European continent as a whole. Later being adopted the European Union (EU), the flag is sometimes colloquially known as the "flag of the European Union", however this term is not official as the flag represents more broadly, the identity and unity of Europe. 25.12.16 © 2016 Didier Ruef