Controversy After European Union Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

October 12, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

The European Union has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. There were gasps of surprise when the announcement was made in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.The EU was chosen over other contenders that included the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Egyptian activist Wael Ghonim. Al Jazeera's Tim Friend reports.

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Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes created by the Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, Literature. Since 1901, it has been awarded annually to those who... Explore this topic

European Union

الاتحاد الأوروبي هو جمعية دولية للدول الأوروبية يضم 27 دولة، تأسس بناء على اتفاقية معروفة باسم معاهدة ماسترخت الموقعة عام 1992 م، ولكن العديد من أفكاره موجودة منذ خمسينات القرن الماضي. من أهم مبادئ الاتحاد الأوروبي نقل صلاحيات الدول القومية إلى المؤسسات الدولية الأوروبية. لكن ... Explore this topic

Anti-austerity protests

Anti-austerity protests, chiefly taking the form of massive street protests by those affected by them and some of them also involving a greater or lesser degree of militancy, have happened regularly across various countries, especially on the European continent, since the onse... Explore this topic

José Manuel Barroso

José Manuel Durão Barroso is the 11th and current President of the European Commission and a Portuguese politician. He served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 6 April 2002 to 17 July 2004. Explore this topic

2010-2012 Greek Protests

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2011-2013 Spanish Protests

The 2011–present Spanish protests, also referred to as the 15-M Movement, the Indignants Movement, and Take the Square #spanishrevolution are a series of ongoing demonstrations in Spain whose origin can be traced to social networks such as Real Democracy NOW or Youth Without a... Explore this topic

Norwegian Nobel Committee

The Norwegian Nobel Committee selects the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize each year on behalf of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's estate, based on instructions of Nobel's will. Its five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament and today roughly represent the p... Explore this topic

Romano Prodi

Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008. He was also the tenth President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. Prodi ran in 1996 as lead candid... Explore this topic

Thorbjørn Jagland

Thorbjørn Jagland is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party, currently serving as the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. He is also the Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and as such responsible for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize. Jagland served as Prime ... Explore this topic

Euro

The euro is the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union and is the official currency of the eurozone, which consists of 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxemb... Explore this topic

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Nobel Peace Prize

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Telegraph.co.uk | Dec 10

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso accept the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Europe...