Nobel Peace Prize awarded to European Union

[Stoatwobbler]

Make of this what you will.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19921072

 

The European Union has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for six decades of work in advancing peace in Europe.

 

The committee said the EU had helped to transform Europe "from a continent of war to a continent of peace".

 

The award comes as the EU faces the biggest crisis of its history, with recession and social unrest rocking many of its member states.

 

The last organisation to be given the award outright was Medecins Sans Frontieres, which won in 1999.

[Stoatwobbler]

Nobel Peace Prize goes to the EU. Does the committee exist just to troll Right-wingers?

 

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tomchiversscience/100184782/nobel-peace-prize-goes-to-the-eu-does-the-committee-exist-just-to-troll-right-wingers/

 

The Nobel Peace Prize this year has been awarded to the European Union. Without wanting to go into whether or not that's a good idea (it seems a bit strange, even to me), does this confirm at last that the prize's organisers have stopped worrying so much about whether the recipients are actually deserving, and instead decided simply to pick people who will annoy Right-wingers?

 

I mean, come on. In 2009, Barack Obama while the ink was still wet on his inauguration documents. In 2002, Jimmy Carter. Now the EU, even while the Greek public are burning Nazi flags for Angela Merkel's visit. In 2007, Al bloody Gore. Next year, will it be George Monbiot?

[woodmally]

Ha that cant be right. There have been more Wars in the Conservative party as a result of this Union than ever before.

 

I'm in favour of the EU but I think now is the right time to have a referendum and solve this argument once and for all. Thats why (ironically as a pro European) I support UKIP.

[andygardener]

Well Yasser Arafat also got it so corrupt and self-serving is clearly one of the criterias for the award.

[FANAdeLdF]

Nobel Peace Prize goes to the EU. Does the committee exist just to troll Right-wingers?

 

It never took much prompting on this forum

[LeMaquis]

Well Yasser Arafat also got it so corrupt and self-serving is clearly one of the criterias for the award.

 

Do you mean Kissinger as well? He killed a lot more people than Arafat.

 

I'm not sure the EU helped to prevent war in Europe. There wasn't much appetite for it in either the east or west after 1945. As long as France and Germany remained close allies and as long as the Soviet Union stayed within its boundaries and sphere of influence in Europe then we weren't going to have WWIII. But if it makes the political right foam at the mouth then I'm all for it.

[Halibut]

Do you mean Kissinger as well? He killed a lot more people than Arafat.

 

I'm not sure the EU helped to prevent war in Europe. There wasn't much appetite for it in either the east or west after 1945. As long as France and Germany remained close allies and as long as the Soviet Union stayed within its boundaries and sphere of influence in Europe then we weren't going to have WWIII. But if it makes the political right foam at the mouth then I'm all for it.

 

You can count me in on that sentiment also.

[andygardener]

Do you mean Kissinger as well? He killed a lot more people than Arafat.

 

I'm not sure the EU helped to prevent war in Europe. There wasn't much appetite for it in either the east or west after 1945. As long as France and Germany remained close allies and as long as the Soviet Union stayed within its boundaries and sphere of influence in Europe then we weren't going to have WWIII. But if it makes the political right foam at the mouth then I'm all for it.

 

No, as I was talking about being self-serving and corrupt, not killing people.

 

The sort of attitude that applauds that which is indefensible because some people you don't like realise it's indefensible is exactly why the EU has been able to wreak the damage it has. Democracy? Pah. That can go fly a kite if someone splutters their cornflakes over the Telegraph. You must be so proud to have democracy so easilly bought from you.

[muddycoffee]

Apparently it belongs to every single person in the European Union.

I have added it to my CV.

[LeMaquis]

Democracy? Pah. That can go fly a kite if someone splutters their cornflakes over the Telegraph. You must be so proud to have democracy so easilly bought from you.

 

How does the EU being awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace constitute democracy being bought? OK, I'll answer my question by assuming you think the EU is not democratic but the EU was founded by member governments, has an elected parliament,a commission that is appointed by elected governments, and its councils of ministers are made up of elected MPs. Its Treaties are subject to ratification by the people or parliaments of member states. And most member states today have been dictatorships in living memory and have joined the EU partly as a means of strengthening their own new democracies.

 

The only argument in favour ofthe EU being anti-democratic I've heard rolled out often is the unelected bureaucrat one but that's like saying we don't have democracy in the UK because some civil servants, military officials, governor of the Bank Of England et al are unelected and have strong powers.