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The multiplication of levels of governance and identification, as well as contemporary changes in political communication now pose a challenge to the traditional dynamics of political symbols such as flags. The coexistence of the national flags of the European Union (EU)’s member States and the twelve-starred flag of the European Union itself sheds light on the dynamics of power and representation at work, with the flags existing in a balance between combination, competition, and confrontation. The gradual incorporation of the European flag into everyday life and its polysemy illustrate a growing plurality of identities. At the same time, the flag’s low emotional charge for most people and the controversies to which it gives rise are a reminder that symbolic change is slow, and far from unequivocal.