The decision by the Nobel Committee to award this year's peace prize to the European Union left many scratching their heads. The panel, in its Friday announcement, said the EU won "for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe."
Some reaction to this, first from the UK:
The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the crisis-hit European Union was labelled "preposterous and absurd" by a former Chancellor.Lord Lamont said: "I think today's decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the EU at a time when people in the streets of Athens are dressing up as Nazis seems preposterous and absurd.
"As Oscar Wilde said about the death of Little Nell: 'It would require a heart of stone not to die of laughter.'
"It is the most ridiculous decision since the Nobel Prize committee gave the peace prize to Barack Obama when he had been President for two minutes.
"If the committee cannot think of an individual to whom they should award the prize, better not to give one at all."
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the EU had achieved an "extraordinary feat" in the aftermath of World War Two.
Mr Clegg added: "I think there are lots of people who are really anti-Brussels or for Brussels, but I think the one thing everyone accepts is given the 20th Century was this blood-soaked century in Europe, the fact that countries would trade with each other, talk with each other, rather than fight with each other, was an extraordinary feat of peace over war.
"It's a kind of interesting choice to give it to an acronym rather than a person but the idea of peace in Europe is something we should always celebrate and never forget."
From the Wall Street Journal:
"The decision to award the prize to the EU was inspired. It is a reminder there is more to the EU than the euro and that it's achievements over 60 years have been remarkable. The project was consciously conceived as a way to bring peace to a continent ravaged by centuries of war culminating in the horrors of the two world wars. The founders believed that by allowing trade to flourish across the continent, the EU would foster deep political, commercial and social links, making future wars unthinkable."
From columnist Frida Ghitis writing for CNN:
"So many tyrants to resist, so many heroes to support, but the Nobel Committee decided to ignore all of that and grant the Nobel Peace Prize this year to a large bureaucratic political alliance, the European Union. The committee passed up a chance to give a tangible boost to and put the valuable global spotlight on an individual, a cause or an organization that could really benefit from the award. What a sadly missed opportunity."
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