SPEECH-12-724_EN

European Commission

Jose Manuel Durao Barroso

President of the European Commission

Statement by President Barroso following the award of
the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize

Press point/Brussels
12 October 2012

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SPEECH/12/724

Ladies and gentlemen,

I have to say that when I woke up this morning, I did not expect it to be such a good
day.

It was with great emotion that I received the news of the award of the Noble Peace Prize
to the European Union. It is a great honour for the European Union to be awarded the
2012 Nobel Peace prize by the Nobel Peace prize committee. It is indeed a great honour
for all the 500 million citizens of Europe, for all the Member States and all the European
institutions to receive this Nobel Prize for Peace.

It is justified recognition for a unique project that works for the benefit of its citizens and
also for the benefit of the world.

We must never forget that at its origins the European Union brought together nations
emerging from the ruins of the devastating 2nd World War and united them in a project
for peace, built on supranational institutions representing the common European
interest.

The European Union, starting with the European Community, has reunified countries split
by the Cold War, and made it around values of respect for human dignity, freedom,
democracy, justice, the rule of law and respect for human rights.

Through its transformative power, the European Union was able, starting from six
countries to reunite almost all the European continent. These values: freedom,
democracy, justice, the rule of law and respect for human rights are the ones that
people all over the world aspire to. These are also the values that the European Union
promotes in order to make the world a better place for all. We are proud that the
European Union is the world's largest provider of development assistance and
humanitarian aid and is as also at the forefront of global efforts to protect our planet
through the fight against climate change and to promote global public goods.

The award today by the Nobel Committee shows that in these difficult times the
European Union remains an inspiration for countries and people all over the world and
that the international community needs a strong European Union.

The Nobel Peace Prize Committee and the international community are now sending a
very important message to Europe that the European Union is something very precious,
that we should cherish it for the good of Europeans and for the good of the entire world.

I thank you for your attention.