2012 Nobel Peace Prize

The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the European Union. The prize was announced by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo on 12 October 2012.

The citation

The citation reads: "for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe".

The laureate

The European Union was founded in 1952.

Why it matters

The committee said the European Union had helped transform most of Europe from a continent of war to a continent of peace, even as it faces a severe economic crisis.

The prize

The prize is worth 8 million Swedish kronor. It will be presented in Oslo on 10 December, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite whose will founded the prizes in 1895.