2012 Nobel Peace Prize
The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the European Union (EU) (founded in 1958) "for over six decades [having] contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe" by a unanimous decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize
The decision highlighted the reconciliation of France and Germany, stating that "over a seventy-year period, Germany and France had fought three wars. Today war between Germany and France is unthinkable. This shows how, through well-aimed efforts and by building up mutual confidence, historical enemies can become close partners." The decision also highlighted the EU's contribution to the "introduction of democracy" in Greece, Spain and Portugal, the advancing of democracy and human rights in Turkey, the strengthening of democracy in Eastern Europe following the Revolutions of 1989 and overcoming of "the division between East and West" and ethnically based national conflicts, and finally the EU's contribution to the "process of reconciliation in the Balkans".[1]
Norwegian Nobel Committee members[edit]
Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee were appointed by the Norwegian Parliament to roughly reflect the party makeup of that body. The committee had the following membership in 2012: Thorbjørn Jagland (chair), Kaci Kullmann Five (deputy chair), Inger-Marie Ytterhorn, Berit Reiss-Andersen, and Gunnar Stålsett (member during Ågot Valle's sick leave).
Announcement[edit]
The award was announced on 12 October 2012. The Nobel citation referred to the strict demands the European Union placed on all would-be members, gave special mention to Greece, Spain, and Portugal—all of which joined in the 1980s after dictatorships ended—and referred to the countries in Eastern Europe that embraced it after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Official reactions[edit]
European Union[edit]
The President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, said that the award recognised the European Union as the "biggest peacemaker in history".[4]
The President of the European Parliament, German social democrat Martin Schulz, said he was "deeply touched. The European Union has reunified the continent through peaceful means and brought arch enemies together. This historic act of reunification has been rightfully recognised."[5] He said that "from the Balkans to the Caucasus, the EU serves as a beacon for democracy and reconciliation."[6]
The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, called the award "a very important message to Europe that the European Union is something very precious, that we should cherish it for the good of Europeans and for the good of the entire world."[7]
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, said she was "delighted" at the news, adding that "in the countries of the EU, historic enemies have become close partners and friends. I am proud to be part of continuing this work."[8]
Public reactions[edit]
The prize was mostly positively received by European and American media, with the notable exception of sections of the British media. In editorials, Aftenposten,[38] Der Spiegel, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Le Soir, De Standaard, de Volkskrant, La Stampa, Le Figaro, Die Welt, Die Presse and the Financial Times all described the prize as deserved.[39][40][41] The Wall Street Journal described the award as "an inspired decision" and "a reminder there is more to the EU than the euro and that its achievements over 60 years have been remarkable."[42]
Steven Pinker applauded the decision as part of a lecture about The Better Angels of Our Nature, remarking that the assignment of the prize recognized the value of an international community as well as the fact that what had started as an economic union had really had a pacifying effect.[43]
While European leaders greeted the decision, the award tended to be criticized by Eurosceptics[44] including the far-right (such as National Front leader Marine Le Pen)[45] and far-left.[46][47] Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing UKIP and co-chairman of the anti-EU EFD group within the European Parliament, claimed the decision brought the Nobel Peace Prize "into total disrepute" due to its "insulting" assumption that the EU has prevented conflicts.[48]
In a poll conducted in Norway by ResponsAnalyse for the newspaper Aftenposten, 26% of respondents agreed with the decision to award the European Union the prize, while 37% opposed it and a further 37% had no opinion. The director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Geir Lundestad described the results of the poll as "... more positive than he had expected" on the background of the "... negative attitude to the EU" in Norway. Lundestad stated that the award was not about Norwegian membership in the EU, but a "wider perspective".[49]
On 30 November 2012, Nobel Peace Prize winners Desmond Tutu, Mairead Maguire and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel publicly opposed the awarding of the prize to the European Union. The 1984, 1976 and 1980 laureates stated in an open letter to the Nobel Foundation, based in Sweden, that in their view the EU stood for "... security based on military force and waging wars rather than insisting on the need for an alternative approach" and that "... the Norwegian Nobel Committee has redefined and reshaped the prize in a way that is not in accordance with the law". The International Peace Bureau, which won the prize in 1910, and several peace activists, writers and lawyers also signed the letter. The signatories demanded that the Nobel Foundation stop the payment of the SEK 8 million prize money.[50]
Award ceremony[edit]
During the announcement, committee chairman Thorbjørn Jagland was asked whether Helmut Kohl or any of the current EU officials would be present to accept the prize on the EU's behalf. Jagland said the EU will have to decide who would accept the prize.[51]
The EU decided that the prize would be accepted by President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz. Van Rompuy and Barroso held the acceptance speeches.[52]
Most EU heads of states or governments except six attended the ceremony. French President François Hollande and Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel attended. David Cameron and five other EU heads of state have not attended, Cameron sending his deputy Nick Clegg in his stead.[53]