OSLO: EU leaders welcomed 2012 Nobel Peace Prize award as recognition of more than six decades of efforts by 500 million EU citizens “to overcome war and divisions.”
“The European Union has reunified a continent split by the Cold War around values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights,” said EU president Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso in a joint statement.
The $1.2 million prize was “not just for the project and the institutions embodying a common interest, but for the 500 million citizens living in our Union,” the two added.
The award sent an important message to Europe “that the EU is something very precious,” he said, adding: “We should cherish it.”
Hailing the choice of the crisis-hit EU, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said current efforts to save the euro were also about ensuring peace.
“I often say that the euro is more than a currency and we should not forget that ... at the end of the day it is about the original idea of a union of peace and of values,” Merkel said.
NATO, the military alliance set up by the United States after World War II to defend Western Europe, likewise saluted the award.
“The European Union has played a vital role in healing the wounds of history and promoting peace, reconciliation and cooperation across Europe,” said NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
And outside the EU’s rambling office in Brussels, a 27-year-old dual British-Polish national hailed the award as “well-deserved”.
“I hope it will be an opportunity for people to realise the EU isn’t just about the debt crisis but that it’s much more than that,” said Stefan Smith.
For head of the European People’s Party Wilfred Martens, years of peace meant “this under-rated European achievement has finally received the recognition it deserves.”
The French presidency said that the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the EU yesterday puts greater responsibility on the bloc.
The honor “confers on Europe an even greater responsibility to preserve its unity and its capacity to promote growth and jobs and foster solidarity among members,” a statement said.
Former German chancellor Helmut Kohl hailed the selection of the European Union for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize yesterday as a “wise and far-sighted decision”.
Kohl, a driving force behind European enlargement and integration in the years after the Berlin Wall fell and frequently mentioned as a possible Nobel laureate for his efforts, said he was “very pleased” with the choice.
Kohl, who was also one of the founders of the euro single currency, said that Europeans had grounds to be “proud”.
EU leaders hail prize decision
