EU Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Today the European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the supposedly prestigious award to the EU for having,  

…contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.

It shouldn't really come as much of a shock that the EU won the prize. Past winners include the President, Henry Kissinger, Yaser Arafat, the International Atomic Agency, and perhaps most ironically, the UN. 

As Jesse has pointed out, setting up an international organization is a great way to win a Nobel Peace Prize, even if such an organization has its own dubious record of the promotion of peace.   

Some have praised the pick, with David Schrieberg saying that:

Isn't it a joke to the record numbers of the unemployed throughout the member states, or an exercise in cynicism to the bankers hoarding their cash rather than incur the risk that comes with sustaining businesses of all sizes struggling to survive in these horribly difficult times?

Yes, really. In fact, absolutely a great day. Because for anyone with a whit of memory, the Peace Prize recalls the vision, hope and optimism that has underpinned this extraordinary experiment since it was a glimmer in the eyes of the visionaries from countries that for centuries devoted themselves instead to ripping at each other's throats.

"This extraordinary" experiment that Schrieberg is referring to is the organization that has diluted national sovereignty, stifled economic growth, and made the economic situation in Europe worse through fiscal activism and a dogmatic attachment to European integration.  

Schrieberg is making a mistake in his analysis that Daniel Hannan has written on, namely that the EU is a symptom, not the cause, of peace in Europe. 

The eurosceptics are understandably outraged, with the leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage calling the EU's win "an absolute disgrace." While euroscpetics might feel especially disheartened today, they are being slowly but surely vindicated by the situation gripping the eurozone.