OSLO - The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize for its long-term role in uniting the continent, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Friday, an award seen as a morale boost for the bloc as it struggles to resolve its debt crisis.
The committee praised the 27-nation EU for rebuilding after World War Two and for its role in spreading stability to former communist countries after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.
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The President of European Parliament Martin Schultz said he is "deeply touched and honored" that the EU has won the prize.
Norwegian public broadcaster NRK said an hour before the announcement that the EU would win.
The prize, worth $1.2 million, will be presented in Oslo on Dec 10. The decision by the five-member panel, led by Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjoern Jagland, was unanimous, NRK said.
Founded with the Treaty of Rome in 1957 with a community of six nations seeking greater economic integration, the bloc has expanded to 27 including east European states added since the Cold War.
But the EU is mired in crisis with strains on the euro, the common currency shared by 17 nations.
The prize was a surprise, especially given the EU's current woes. And many Norwegians are bitterly opposed to the EU, seeing it as a threat to the sovereignty of nation states.
Norway, the home of the peace prize, has voted "no" twice to joining the EU, in 1972 and 1994. The country has prospered outside the EU, partly thanks to huge oil and gas resources.
The five-member committee is appointed by parliament, where parties are deeply split over EU membership. Jagland has long favoured EU membership.
Jagland earlier said the decision was unanimous and "not particularly complicated".
The committee praised the 27-nation EU for rebuilding after World War Two and for its role in spreading stability to former communist countries after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.
Related:
The President of European Parliament Martin Schultz said he is "deeply touched and honored" that the EU has won the prize.
Norwegian public broadcaster NRK said an hour before the announcement that the EU would win.
The prize, worth $1.2 million, will be presented in Oslo on Dec 10. The decision by the five-member panel, led by Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjoern Jagland, was unanimous, NRK said.
Founded with the Treaty of Rome in 1957 with a community of six nations seeking greater economic integration, the bloc has expanded to 27 including east European states added since the Cold War.
But the EU is mired in crisis with strains on the euro, the common currency shared by 17 nations.
The prize was a surprise, especially given the EU's current woes. And many Norwegians are bitterly opposed to the EU, seeing it as a threat to the sovereignty of nation states.
Norway, the home of the peace prize, has voted "no" twice to joining the EU, in 1972 and 1994. The country has prospered outside the EU, partly thanks to huge oil and gas resources.
The five-member committee is appointed by parliament, where parties are deeply split over EU membership. Jagland has long favoured EU membership.
Jagland earlier said the decision was unanimous and "not particularly complicated".