The flag of the European Union still hangs high during a debt crisis amongst its 27 nation members. COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
By Briar Hopley
Reaction to the European Union’s Nobel Peace Prize has been mixed.
Friday’s announcement that the prize was going to the EU, comes in midst of a crippling debt crisis.
“I think they’re at the beginning of the end. We’re seeing it start to crumble,”
said Steve Bang, a Humber College business professor.
The debt crisis in Europe has caused tensions between the north and south, mass unemployment, which has led to hundreds of thousands of citizens storming the streets in protest of tax hikes and job cuts, reported the Associated Press website.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to award the EU with the Nobel Peace Prize for being a forerunner in contributing to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.
“Today war between Germany and France is unthinkable. This shows how, through well-aimed efforts and by building up mutual confidence, historical enemies can become close partners,” the Nobel Peace Prize committee was reported to have said in a 680 news report.
However, Bang said with the way things are going economically in Europe, many countries in the Union could consider leaving the club.
The EU is currently made up of 500-million people in 27 different nations.
Bang said the EU experiment with the euro was initially a good idea, but they didn’t think of the long-term repercussions.
The euro takes away a lot of tools governments can use in order to control their economy.
“The biggest problem with the European Union is it takes away the ability for the country to go and print more money to pay off their debt”.
The 1.2 million dollar award the EU received is a “small drop in the bucket”, said Bang.
The EU t of $13,102,248,121,161.75 Canadian, reported the Guardian.
Bang predicts the EU will most likely give the prize money to a charity.