The European Union has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for six decades of work in advancing peace in Europe.
The committee said the EU had helped to transform Europe “from a continent of war to a continent of peace”. The award comes as the EU faces the biggest crisis of its history, with recession and social unrest rocking many of its member states.
The last organisation to be given the award outright was Medecins Sans Frontieres, which won in 1999.
Announcing the award, Nobel committee president Thorbjoern Jagland acknowledged the EU’s current financial problems and social unrest. But he said the committee wanted to concentrate on the body’s work over six decades of advancing “peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights”.
Mr Jagland highlighted the EU’s work in sealing the reconciliation between France and Germany in the decades after World War II. And he praised the organisation for incorporating Spain, Portugal and Greece after their authoritarian regimes collapsed in the 1970s.
The EU’s reconciliation work had now moved to Balkan countries, pointing out that Croatia is on the verge of membership.
- BBC News
15 Comments
USA went into debt to save Europe from Stalin.
Cannot freaking believe that the EU won the Nobel Prize. Is anyone of any political stripe supportive of this award?
President Obama was effusive.
European Elites And Debt Crisis
http://www.coolissues.com/government/europeanelites.html
The cynical part of me suggests that he would be, as he won it while his country was still involved in a war and before he’d actually had time to do anything as President other than make some nice speeches.
People put shoes on wires because they can.
A Pauper Ox; Area Pox Up.
A wee reminder to like DEM’s facebook page (since, once again, this cartoon has proven popular on both FB and the blog) – she can’t invite people to ‘join’ until she gets 30 ‘likes’:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/DeusExMacintosh/103606729793263
I have indeed liked DEM’s cartoon on both, I should add.
Gem. I was wishing someone would do something on the EU peace prize, and she delivered!
And next year – the USSR wins – awarded posthumously.
(I stole that comment from someone on the Cat…)
the thing is, it would be pretty hard these days, looking around the world to find a decent nominee …
let’s face it … the UN security council would have been a worse award.
i suppose the financial sharks who caused the GFC and avoided responsibility, decreasing funds nation states have for military adventures could be candidates.
Perhaps the most significant /successful/ peace promoting act in the last year would be the level of Billy Smith stopping the punch up involving 5 other kids in his grade 3 class, but there will be some rule of the Nobel prize preventing awards to people who haven’t reached puberty yet.
Dave, yes, agreed – who do you nominate in present times? No one on a global level immediately springs to mind. Can they “pass” on a particular year on the basis that there’s no one suitable? I’d say that would be better than giving it to someone risible.
Given the track record of the Peace Prize, can collapse and war be far behind?
Well yes, it’s a bit of a poisoned chalice really. Look what happened to the Middle East Peace stuff…
L@14 Or Vietnam …