- The EU was not responsible for the post-war peace and prosperity in Western Europe

A century ago Alfred Nobel, when establishing a set of prices in his name, decided that the Peace Price should be decided by a Norwegian committee whose member where elected by the Norwegian parliament. Hundred-and-some years later Mr Torbjorn Jagland, amongst other things former Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and currently Labour MP and President of the Parliament, is set to be the next leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. As Mr Jagland is a staunch supporter for Norwegian membership to the EU and has publicly stated that the EU, because of its role in preserving and consolidating peace in Europe after World War 2, deserves the Peace Price sparks have begun to fly within the Socialis Left Party (SV) and the No to EU-movement. Mr Heming Olaussen, leader of No to EU and former member of the Central Committee of SV, demands that anti-EU hard-liners are appointed from his party, as he fears that Mr Jagland, together with the majority of the committee, who are also pro-Europeans, will push through the price being given to the Beast from Brussels. He argues that crediting the EU for post-war peace in Western Europe has no more value than crediting NATO and that arguing that the peace between Germany and France was secured by the EU is to argue that two NATO-members would have attacked each other without the EU, which he sees as unthinkable. Mr Olaussen, together with large parts of the Norwegian far-left-wing intelligensia sees the EU as the Beast in Revelations, and giving credits this beast for anything is thus unthinkable. However, at times, even if they see the EU as the Beast and market liberation as the work of the Devil, it would be nice if they'd recognize the role the integration of the French and German coal- and steel industries played in the years of reconstruction. Is it unthinkable for two NATO-powers to go to war with one-another? Seeing first of all the centuries of conflicts and wars between France and Germany/the German states and secondly the everlasting conflicts between Turkey and Greece, beliving that NATO-membership is enough to make arch-enemies friendly towards each-other is overly optimistic. No, I'm afraid Mr Olaussen knows perfectly well the importance of European economic integration to the peace and prosperity in Western Europe, but that he takes every oppertunity he has to talk down on the European project.