By Julia Faurschou
_______________________________________________________________________________
It was announced on the morning of October 12th that the European Union would receive the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee stated that they chose the European Union for this years annual award because the EU has “for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.” The award comes at a time when Europe is plagued with the mounting debt crisis and rapidly declining numbers in popular support. The $1.2 million in prize money, or an estimated 0.0027 euro per inhabitant of the EU’s member states, seems trivial in the context of the hundreds of billions of euros in debt that is currently overloading the Union.
The news of this years winner appeared to baffle both the “Euroskeptics” and the European leaders themselves. Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, responded to the pleasant surprise, saying, “I have to say that when I woke up this morning, I did not expect it to be such a good day....The award today by the Nobel Committee shows that in these difficult times the European Union remains an inspiration for countries and people all over the world and that the international community needs a strong European Union.”
Nobel committee president Thorbjoern Jagland touted the EU’s zealous quest for peace despite great economic and social unrest, claiming that “The stabilizing part played by the EU has helped to transform most of Europe from a continent of war to a continent of peace.” The great irony in it all is that Norway, out of which the Nobel Committee is based, has refused membership to the EU three times. One would think that if this organization was as substantial as the Nobel Committee has made it sound, then the Norwegians would be falling over themselves to secure their own EU membership.
The rationale behind the European Union winning the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize is rather weak - there is some substance behind it, but not near enough to justify it as a substantive answer. It all stems from the fact that yes, the EU has managed to deter another global scale, genocide ridden World War. What started as the Coal and Steel Community, designed to make war materially impossible among its six original members, has developed into the economic, social, and political integration of twenty seven member nations over the past sixty plus years. The Union has been credited with quashing emerging dictatorships and establishing democracy in its place in such countries as Spain, Greece, and Portugal. It has withstood the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Cold War, conflict in the Middle East, just to name a few. And now the EU is faced with large scale economic crisis. With the surmounting debt and repercussions of it, tension and hostility are becoming increasingly evident within the affected nations.
The United States and NATO have also been great contributors to any degree of peace in Europe. Both have been critically important in dealing with European instability. For example, the bloody conflict in Yugoslavia following the fall of the Berlin Wall only ended once the US intervened. The US spent a vast amount of time and money to provide a military wall behind which Western Europe could regain its strength. Both the US and NATO deserve mention of the supporting roles each played.
The announcement of the prize comes in the wake of the Angela Merkel’s visit to Greece. Upon her arrival in Athens she was greeted by fifty thousand austerity protestors, complete with seven thousand law enforcement officers present to keep the German Chancellor out of harms way. Some Greek protestors were even so bold as to arrive dressed as Nazis. The hostility stems from the strict austerity measures that the EU has laden upon the Greeks in exchange for around two hundred billion euros in bailout funds. Violence is on the rise in Spain and Portugal for similar reasons. Greece, Spain, and Portugal, when initially pursuing EU membership, were required to give up their previous authoritarian regimes in exchange for democracy. Following their initiation into the EU, these countries have all experienced economic difficulties and become the recipients of large amounts of subsidies and aid. Not quite the advancement of peace and democracy the Nobel Committee had in mind.
The EU has been accused of an assault on democracy in it’s own institutions. The Eurocrats are determined to advance European integration towards a continental government, a United States of Europe if you will, no matter the objections that have been raised. Trust in the Union has plummeted in recent years as the push for a Europe-wide government intensifies. There is minimal loyalty of European citizens to the EU, and politics in Europe remain primarily focused on national issues. More than language barriers divide the Union. There is no “European” identity, only national mindsets. The stark lack of a European consciousness is becoming more evident and problematic by the day.
Thus, awarding the Nobel Peace prize to the EU is either a nostalgic look back to the twentieth century, the EU pre- debt crisis, or a diplomatic push in the right direction towards resolving the crisis in the most peaceful manner possible. It is a prize not so much for any current peace in Europe, but for that which is expected and encouraged. It is hoped that the awarding of this prize will contribute to fostering European moral in overcoming potential currency disaster by reminding them of what they have accomplished in the past, no matter how long ago that was, and not end up being a final parting gift.
