2012 Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize
The medal and the certificate exposed at the European Commission
Awarded for	Outstanding contributions to peace
Date	12 October 2012
Location	Oslo
Country	Norway
Presented by	Norwegian Nobel Committee
Reward(s)	8 million SEK ($1.2M, €0.9M)
First awarded	1901
2012 laureate	European Union
Website	Nobelprize.org
← 2011 Nobel Peace Prize 2013 →

The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the European Union (EU) "for over six decades [having] contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe" by a unanimous decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

The decision highlighted the reconciliation of France and Germany, stating that "over a seventy-year period, Germany and France had fought three wars. Today war between Germany and France is unthinkable. This shows how, through well-aimed efforts and by building up mutual confidence, historical enemies can become close partners." The decision also highlighted the EU's contribution to the "introduction of democracy" in Greece, Spain and Portugal, the advancing of democracy and human rights in Turkey, the strengthening of democracy in Eastern Europe following the Revolutions of 1989 and overcoming of "the division between East and West" and ethnically based national conflicts, and finally the EU's contribution to the "process of reconciliation in the Balkans."

For the 2012 award the Nobel Committee received 231 valid nominations, compared to the record 247 candidates in 2011. 43 of the nominations were organisations, while the remaining 188 were individuals, either alone, together with others or together with organisations.

Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee were appointed by the Norwegian Parliament to roughly reflect the party makeup of that body. The Committee had the following membership in 2012: Thorbjørn Jagland (chair), Kaci Kullmann Five (deputy chair), Inger-Marie Ytterhorn, Berit Reiss-Andersen, and Gunnar Stålsett (member during Ågot Valle's sick leave).