EU wins Nobel Peace Prize

Every year since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for peace. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a committee of five persons who are chosen by the Norwegian Storting (the Parliament of Norway), Oslo, Norway. The Nobel Peace Prize was announced on Friday.

Alfred Nobel developed a special interest in peace, perhaps due to the use of his inventions in warfare.

Henry Dunant, founder of the Red Cross, shared the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 with Frédéric Passy, a leading international pacifist of the time.

In addition to humanitarian efforts and peace movements, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded for work in a wide range of fields including advocacy of human rights, mediation of international conflicts, and arms control.

The Nobel Peace Prize 2012 was awarded to European Union (EU) "for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe".

The committee highlighted the EU's work in reconciliation between France and Germany in the decades after World War II.

In more recent times they pointed out the EU's reconciliation work with Balkan countries, and pointed out that Croatia was on the verge of membership.

This is not the first time a political bloc or organisation has received the prize. In 1904 the Institute of International Law was awarded the prize, and in more recent times UN peace keeping forces, and Amnesty international have been among the recipients.

The formal ceremony will take place in Oslo, with other ceremonies for Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Literature taking place in Stockholm on 10 December - the anniversary of the death of prize creator Alfred Nobel in 1896.

Listen to Matthew French’s report: