In 1976, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing decided to lighten the color of the blue stripe to match that of the European Union flag, in order to emphasize France's commitment to the EU.

France changed the color of it's flag over a year ago and no one noticed. French news outlets revealed on Sunday that the blue third of the flag was made darker.

The European flag symbolises both the European Union and, more broadly, the identity and unity of Europe. It features a circle of 12 gold stars on a blue background.

The blue rectangle, originally adopted from the Union Flag since erstwhile Malaya was a British colony, now means unity of the people of the country. The flag was adopted on May 26, 1950. South Africa ...

Few flags the world over are as recognisable as the flag of Europe. Created in 1955, the 12 stars on a blue background are used throughout the international realm as the official standard of the EU.

Even though the 27-nation EU did not compete as such, many of its member states did, and the star-spangled blue flag is often seen as a unifier for all involved.