Britain’s prime minister said Friday he would not attend the ceremony awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union and added NATO had also had a role in preventing conflict on the continent. Speaking to reporters after an EU summit, David Cameron said: “I personally won’t be going… there will be enough other people to collect it.” EU President Herman Van Rompuy on Thursday invited the leaders of all 27 member states to go to Oslo to attend the ceremony and stressed that the challenges the bloc currently faced were nothing compared to the post-war period. Under Nobel protocol, Van Rompuy would be one of three on the podium, along with European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament president Martin Schulz. EU leaders, should they attend the December 10 ceremony, would be in the audience. Cameron said he would have preferred the next generation to bask in the EU’s glory. “My suggestion was for a schoolchild from (each of) the 27 member states” to attend, said the prime minister. Cameron acknowledged that the prize recognised the achievement of the EU in preserving peace, but he said NATO had also had played a role.
