The European Union is among the qualified promoters that could support the candidacy for “the courage of the Ukrainian people in the face of terrible adversity”
BRUSSELS. Volodymyr Zelensky Nobel Peace Prize winner, it could be done and there are those in the EU who would like it. Tudor Ciuhodaru, Romanian MEP of the Social Democrats (S&D), initiated the debate and above all reasoning, complete with an official request put in black and white in a parliamentary question. A short text, without too many preambles. A line and a half to underline “the courage of the Ukrainian people in the face of terrible adversity” and to ask, directly, if the president of the European Commission intends to name the Ukrainian president for the award.
Ursula von der Leyen responds directly, as the recipient of the request. “The European Union, as the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, can in principle nominate candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize” replies the president of the EU executive, but she does not unbutton. The Norwegian Nobel Committee receives nominations between September and February and “any decision by a qualified nominator should be made before the end of that period.”
Von der Leyen essentially takes time. The EU, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012, is among those qualified promoters that could deposit and support Zelensky’s candidacy. But the political nature of such an eventual decision could affect both the progress of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the increasingly complicated relations with Russia. The anti-Putin sense of Zelensky Nobel Peace Prize winner and the response of the Kremlin must be properly evaluated.
The reflection process is still open, but the mere fact of starting to think about the possibility of honoring the Ukrainian president can be read in Moscow as a further provocation from the West and Europe. Therefore, the cautious tone of von der Leyen is understandable, however he is keen to point out that “Europe stands in solidarity with Ukraine in the face of the Kremlin’s aggression and will continue to provide a strong political and financial response, and humanitarian assistance” . There is no doubt that Zelensky’s Nobel Peace Prize would be a strong political response. Von der Leyen therefore does not take a position, but his words leave nothing to be excluded.
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