For those who missed it earlier in this thread:
The European Union is
NÓT about economy.
It is about peace on the European continent.
After the horrors of the fírst WW some humanist bright men with diplomatic clout got together about an important underlying bone of contention.
That gave birth to the coal and steel treaty.
After WW2 the same goal was supported even more and more widely.
7 countries, the main battle fields, laid the foundations for the current EU. Nope, (thus?) the UK was not a particpant.
Joint, shared interest in education, cultural exchange and economic interest were tools to bring the nations closer together.
When the economic interest; a means to the peace goal, turned out a success, the UK jumped on the band wagon.
Borders were eliminated and a common currency, the Euro, was implented. The UK opted out of this.
In 2007 the European Union was firmly founded with an almost autonomous governing body. This was the Treaty of Rome. The UK was a very, véry valuable contributor in this even though later on it was the main reason why the powers that rule it wanted it out.
To commemorate this a 2€ coin was issued.
Again; these measures have a literally common, shared goal; peace on the European continent. I stress this because it is by and large ´forgotten´. Yes, the UK is a sad example of this as it jumped óff the band wagon because of xenophobia.
BMW was in both WWs (albeit in WW1 under a diiferent náme) an important manufacturer of airplane engines for the German army. Also the factories made extensive use of prisoners slave labour provided by the Nazis from their concentration camps.
So much so that the allies put such severe restrictions on post war production that all they could make were pots and pans.
For decénnia, originating form prewar BMW´s own marketing/advertising, even after WW2 it was common popular ´knowledge´ that the blue/white rondel symbolised a turning propellor.
Today it is important; read politically correct, to point out it is simply a stylised way to represent the bavarian colours.
Put the two together and it become clear (I think) why I thought it of great symbolic significance to have a Spanish minted Treaty of Rome coin on my BMW.
