EU to give Nobel prize cash to war-impacted children

BRUSSELS, Belgium – The European Union will donate almost one million euros that came with this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to children affected by war and conflicts, officials said Wednesday, November 14.

The Nobel Committee last month awarded the peace prize to the EU for bringing more than half a century of peace to a continent ripped apart by World War II. The decision was met with both praise and ridicule.

This year’s award came with about 930,00 euros ($1.2 million) in prize money.

“The Nobel Peace Prize stands for reconciliation throughout the world. The prize money should benefit the first hope for the future, but also the first victims of present and past conflicts: children,” European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement.

Barroso will collect the prize in Oslo on December 10, along with European Parliament President Martin Schulz and EU President Herman Van Rompuy.

The EU on Wednesday also announced a drawing contest for youngsters aged between eight and 24. Four winners will attend the awards ceremony. – Agence France-Presse