Europese Unie genomineerd voor de Nobelprijs voor de Vrede (en)

The EU has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize along with US President George W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The Union was nominated by former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjoern Jagland for the historic reunification of Eastern and Western Europe after enlargement.

However, according to French agency AFP, the chances of the EU scooping the award are not good, because two of the judging panel of five appointed by the Norwegian Parliament (in accordance with Alfred Nobel's will) are noted eurosceptics.

There are also concerns that giving the award to the EU will be seen as an internal political statement as Norway has not joined the Union.

Being nominated for the award is not necessarily an honour in itself. Adolf Hitler and Slobodan Milosevic have been nominated in the past, along with US pop star Michael Jackson.

The definitive list of nominations will not be known until 2 March after the first meeting of the panel.

The awards ceremony will be held in December.