EU wins Nobel Peace Prize!

“At a time when the EU looks to be on the brink of a break-up, the Nobel Committee has decided to remind people that the Union emerged from the Second World War and has successfully prevented new conflicts, especially between Germany and France over the last 60 years. ‘Today, war between Germany and France is unthinkable,’” noted the Nobel committee chairman (Telegraph, October 12, 2012).

Some claim the Nobel Prize is meant to be a morale booster for the EU, and the jubilation in Brussels appears to support this claim. Now the challenge will be to determine which of the three EU presidents will accept the prize in December (ibid.).

However, many are confused and frustrated by what they see happening in Europe.  Angela Merkel was recently greeted in Greece by angry protesters dressed as Nazis. Catalonia wants to secede from Spain.  In the wake of these and other divisive events, the prize committee chairman also warned that “The collapse of the EU could lead to a resurgence of the ‘extremism and nationalism’ that had led to so many ‘awful wars’” (Guardian, October 12, 2012).  

Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the EU accentuates the divergent nature of the Union—an institution that has helped maintain peace on a war-torn continent, but is also driving wedges between nations on the same continent.   This was actually predicted by the prophet Daniel some 2,500 years ago, when he described the emergence of the final phase of a European power with links to the ancient Roman Empire as a mixture of iron and clay (Daniel 2:41-43).