Commentary
Nathalie Tocci, Jan Techau
{
"authors": [
"Jan Techau"
],
"type": "commentary",
"blog": "Strategic Europe",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie Europe"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Europe",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Europe"
],
"topics": [
"EU"
]
}
Source: Getty
Commentary
The Right Prize for the Right Organization
The EU has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today. It is the right prize for the right organization at the right time.
By Jan Techau
Published on Oct 12, 2012
The EU has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today. It is the right prize for the right organization at the right time.
There are clearly two reasons for the Nobel Committee's decision. One is the acknowledgement of the EU's unique contribution to peace, stability, and reconciliation on the European continent following the Second World War. Alongside NATO, which kept the western part of the continent free from Soviet aggression, it was the EU that delivered internal consolidation and new ways of cooperation between erstwhile and traditional enemies in Europe.
At the end of the cold war, the EU's enlargement policy offered new chances to Central and Eastern European states after their long ordeal behind the iron curtain. The EU peace project can't be praised enough for these accomplishments.
The second reason is clearly political. The Peace Prize has always been a political one. It gives the EU a morale boost at a time when it has been shaken to its core. The prize is an encouragement to the EU to continue its peace-generating integration work. It is a reminder to eurosceptics to consider the real merits of the union they so despise, and it is an appeal to Europe to finally become a serious strategic player in the world.
In that sense, the award is also an aide-memoir to Europeans that they carry a responsibility few others must shoulder: to pacify their own, historically unstable continent, and to be a force for good in the world.
About the Author
Jan Techau
Director, Europe Team, Eurasia Group
Techau is director with Eurasia Group's Europe team, covering Germany and European security from Berlin. Previously, he was director of Carnegie Europe.
- Can Europe Trust the United States Again?
- Pre-Reformation Europe and the Coming SchismCommentary
Jan Techau
Recent Work
More Work from Strategic Europe
- Letter from the Editor: Europe Takes Two Steps Forward But One Step BackCommentary
As we close out another season of Strategic Europe, it is worth taking stock of the deep shifts underway.
Rym Momtaz
- Taking the Pulse: Are the EU’s Watered-Down Russia Sanctions Better than None?Commentary
The EU had to compromise to adopt a twenty-first sanctions package against Russia, exposing growing cracks in the union’s resolve. Is this latest, weaker round worth it to keep pressure on Moscow?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- Why Europe Must Take Charge of its Russia Diplomacy NowCommentary
Trump is distracted and Ukraine wants Europe to step up. The continent’s leaders must find their voice and assert it in talks with Russia.
Alissa de Carbonnel
- Why Russia Could Escalate Hybrid Warfare Against EuropeCommentary
Mounting economic strain and battlefield losses will not necessarily make the Kremlin less dangerous. They could instead push Moscow toward a more aggressive hybrid campaign designed to test NATO’s Eastern flank, exploit allied hesitation, and fracture European resolve.
Maksym Beznosiuk
- Taking the Pulse: Enough with the Annual NATO Summits, Already?Commentary
Over the past ten years, NATO has held almost as many summits as it did during the entirety of the Cold War. Are they still useful, or is it time to stop holding annual meetings?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
