AlQa'dah 26, 1433, Oct 12, 2012, SPA -- The European Union was Friday awarded the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize for its contributions to "the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights." According to dpa, Thorbjorn Jagland, chair of the five-member Nobel committee, said the award was "a message to Europe that we should do everything we can to secure what we have achieved and move forward." Jagland said it was a prize that both recognized the EU's "historic" achievements and "the historic process that is continuing until now," citing the ongoing enlargement of the bloc.
