Does the EU deserve to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?

1. 59

   Cassie Smithposted 11 years ago

   Does the EU deserve to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?
   
   Those crazy Norwegians awarded it to Obama for nothing, now they've awarded it to the EU when they're going through a big financial crisis.  It's become so meaningless.

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2. 60

   CHRIS57posted 11 years ago

   It is always questionable if an organization is awarded with a Nobel prize. I thought that the Nobel prize is for individuals with oustanding achievements for the benefit of mankind.
   So - no, the EU does not deserve the Nobel Piece prize. If anyone deserved the prize with respect to European unification, it would have been the far sighted politicians of the first days of the Roman treaty of 1957.

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3. 0

   Paul83posted 11 years ago

   To be fair, the European Union has been on the candidate list for quite a few years before actually receiving it.
   
   The timing seems a little off, though. As said, there's alot of nasty stuff going on right now, and the EU has done little to nothing substantial to resolve any of it, i.e. nothing has actually been achieved yet.
   
   Of course we have the financial crises, but through those problems the still very sharp cultural differences between member states become apparent. And it's those cultural aspects that remain largely ignored when it comes to the forming of European policy.
   
   In the past, the EU has shown severe lack of understanding in that area, for example during the Yugoslav wars. Apart from the economic drama's that put huge pressure on our monetary system and mutual trust, the political union still has a long way to go in keeping a fundamentally diverse set of nations together. Up to this point, everything revolves to much around money and ideology.
   
   By the same token peace is never a given, and the vast majority of Europe has been enjoying a life in peace for almost three decades now. Though - with the risk of sounding too cynical - that may be more because of the  individual attitudes of the European countries, and less a result of the politics in Brussels.
   
   I believe this prize, similar to the case of Obama, is primarily about stimulating debate instead of rewarding achievement.

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   1. 59

      Cassie Smithposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It's not what the Nobel Peace Prize is to be awarded for, however, Nobel is dead and a good thing that he didn't see his Prize become meaningless.

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4. 85

   SidKempposted 11 years ago

   Let's look at it from a historical perspective. During the 20th century before the EU, Europe was split by two World Wars. Before that, war across Europe had been pretty much continual for centuries. Since the EU, no EU nation has gone to war against another EU nation. Yes, uniting former warring nations is worthy of the Prize!

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