Nobel Peace Prize for 2012 to the European Union

12/10/2012

The EJ welcomes the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2012 to the European Union.

 

The EJ welcomes the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2012 to the European Union. We fully support the recognition of the Norwegian Nobel committee that the European Union "for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe". This decision is also a tribute to the Founding Fathers like Konrad Adenauer, Alcide De Gasperi, Robert Schuman and all the other personalities that since the beginning of the European unification, in times of hardship and prosperity, devoted themselves to the development of the unique European project.

In this way the efforts of the pioneers of the European integration have been recognized by the awarding of the world’s most prestigious acknowledgment. They undoubtedly deserve it for their passion and determination to start the project and to serve the best interests of the European peoples and citizens.

The future they dreamed of is our present today. It was not an easy job to begin and implement step by step the European integration, but each step was a stone in the house of peace.

We must never forget that the decision to build a common European home was inspired by the tragic experiences of two bloody world wars. The determination to overcome the mistakes of the past and to learn the lessons of reconciliation and peace gave birth to the European idea and this is a legacy we must preserve at any price if this project is to succeed. It was the Franco-German reconciliation which laid the cornerstone of European unification and the basis for sustainable peace in the troubled Old Continent.

After the dissolution of the Soviet empire it was the European Union that immediately gave a helping hand to the Eastern countries and afterwards welcomed them in our common European home, thus extending freedom, democracy, human right  and prosperity to millions of people behind the old iron curtain.

At the same time, in this day of joy, we need to keep advocating for a European Union that  should not develop into a ”bureaucratic monster”. We stand for broader citizens’ participation and democratic legitimacy of the European institutions, for stronger guarantees for media freedom which even now, nearly six decade since the birth of the EU, appear to be under attack here and there. We are sure that the European citizens will be in favor of the necessary transfer of more national sovereign powers to a European level if this is done within the framework of the European value system and identities.

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize is a timely reminder that even in deep crisis the EU remains the crucial guardian of peace and prosperity in Europe and an inspiring model for the rest of the world where strife and conflicts are abundant.

The EJ welcomes the awarding of  the Nobel Peace Prize to European Union as homage paid to the history and to achievements of great goals in favor of peace, freedom, democracy and human rights and at the same time considers it an incentive to continue the efforts towards a stronger European Union which not only promotes the well-being of its citizens but also serves as a reliable guarantee of stability and peace worldwide.

 

Paolo Magagnotti                           Rotger H. Kindermann                 Vassil Sotirov

EJ President                                      EJ Vice-president                           EJ Executive Committee member