Only One-Third of EU Leaders Will Attend Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony

This year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize was the European Union. So far, only a minority of EU heads of state have agreed to attend the awards while a significant number have decided to give it a pass.

The European Union has 27 member states all of whom were invited to the award ceremony in Oslo set to take place December 10th. At present, only about a third of the heads of state have committed to making the trip.

Angela Merkel of Germany has announced plans to attend but the UK’s David Cameron is going to pass. Beyond that, the Nobel Institute has “refused to reveal the names of those who have accepted and declined their invitations.”

What is known is that around 10 EU heads of state are planning to attend while a smaller but still significant number have so far refused. This leaves about a third of EU members sitting on the fence, including France’s President Francois Hollande who has not committed one way or the other.

The Nobel press release announcing the prize was issued October 12th, about a month before the EU slipped into a new recession. The press release does note “grave economic difficulties and considerable social unrest” but credits the EU with making Europe a “a continent of peace” over the past several decades.

The award consists of a gold medal and a monetary prize worth $1.1 million. The EU will donate the money to “children affected by war.”