The European Union flag has been present in official cabinet photos since 2007 ─ until now.
ADVERTISEMENTDeliberate gesture or a flag protocol blunder? The European Union flag is missing from Romania’s new cabinet official photo.
Ever since the country joined the European Union back in 2007, official cabinet photos have included the EU flag alongside the Romanian one. Breaking with tradition, the official website of the Romanian government posted a group photo of the new cabinet flanked only by the Romanian flag.
The absence of the European Union flag from the picture raised a few eyebrows. It triggered a response from a political organization called Platforma Romania 100, lead by the former Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos. A message on the organization’s Facebook page and a comparative photo of previous cabinets highlights the difference, alluding to the fact that the omission of the EU flag happens less than a year before Romania is due to take up the presidency of the Council of the European Union.
“It’s the first time in many years that this has happened”, reads the Facebook post. The organization’s spokesperson, Liviu Iolu, told Euronews that this could signal a shift in the new government’s relationship with the European Union.
There was no government reaction in the media, nor a response to Euronews’ request for comment on the claims.
After her appointment early this January, Viorica Dancila, a two-term member of the European Parliament, renounced her MEP seat to steer the new government.