EU wins Nobel Peace Prize

Today, 12 October 2012 the European Union has been awarded the most prestigious prize in the world: the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize was announced today in Oslo by the Nobel Prize Committee and was awarded to the European Union “for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe”.

“It is a Prize not just for the project and the institutions embodying a common interest, but for the 500 million citizens living in our Union”, say President of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso and President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy in a joint statement.

EUD warmly congratulates the EU and hopes this pro-European signal will be carried forward into the coming years, achieving full and equal human rights for all citizens, including its Deaf sign language users. In times of crisis, social inequalities have become greater and must be addressed to ensure a Europe that is fair and equal to all its citizens, especially in view of the upcoming European Year of Citizens in 2013.

EUD is proud to be part of a European community that works towards harmonising standards for Deaf and disabled people to ensure greater mobility and freedom of movement.

Without the European idea, the European Union of the Deaf would not exist in its current form, uniting Deaf citizens across many countries and cultures.

To find out more about the Nobel Peace Prize see: 
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/

More on the history of the European Union: 
http://europa.eu/about-eu/eu-history/index_en.htm

The full joint statement by Presidents Barroso and Van Rompuy can be downloaded here:
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/132807.pdf

More information on the European Year of Citizens 2013: 
http://ec.europa.eu/citizenship/european-year-of-citizens-2013/index_en.htm

You can download the PDF version of the article here.

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