Bosnia and Herzegovina is proof that the EU (is not) worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize

By Ernad Metaj

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The EU, according to the English Guardian, should withdraw the Inzko Law banning the denial of genocide and all crimes in BiH. Such an EU does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize it received in 2012. It does not deserve it because its actions practically reward those who pursue secessionist policies in BiH, thus proving the thesis that there are strong forces in the international community that want to give the disappearance of BiH the appearance of inevitability. Europe knows that the collapse is advocated by those who committed genocide in the bloody Balkan wars, which the "old lady" did not know how, or did not want to, curb.

And again, the EU, using the example of BiH and the Western Balkans, fails as a "peacemaker". After 25 years of its mediation, BiH is closer to war than to fulfilling the conditions for EU membership. In BiH, the EU has trampled its own principles for 25 years, turning a blind eye to human rights violations despite international rulings that have pointed to discrimination against citizens in our country. Instead of uniting people, which is one of the reasons for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, the EU has divided them in BiH. After receiving the award, the EU closed its doors to the Western Balkan countries, thereby strengthening disintegrating policies.

With its enlargement policy, the EU has given arguments to right-wing leaders in criticizing its functioning, as well as an alibi for a destructive role that dangerously resembles the spread and strengthening of fascist ideology. Thus, Hungary was one of the main proponents of the integration of Balkan countries into the EU, and now it is the main ally of those who pose the most serious threat to peace after 25 years. It is clear that the Hungarians looked after their own interests because the integration of the Western Balkans into the EU would give them new allies, which they are now using to show power that seriously threatens the very future of the EU.

The EU's role as a peacemaker can also be seen in the crisis in Ukraine. There, the EU is begging the US, NATO, and Russia not to exclude it from negotiations that could largely determine its future. This shows that in serious global crises, the EU is not a major player and does not have a key influence on peace processes. The EU is also divided on the migrant crisis, and human rights are grossly violated at its borders, especially in Croatia. The great peacemaker gives a lot of money to Turkey to protect its borders by preventing uncontrolled and mass arrival of migrants into the EU.

All of this brings us back to 2012, when it was openly requested that the Nobel Peace Prize not be awarded to the EU. This was requested by the International Peace Bureau, which is itself a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. "It is clear that the European Union is not one of the 'champions of peace' as Alfred Nobel envisioned and described in his will," the open letter states, reminding that in his will, the Swedish industrialist who died in 1896, assessed that the prize should be awarded to "those who have done the most or best to promote fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies."

Some European parliamentarians were also surprised by the award to the EU. Some saw it as an April Fools' joke, although they do not deny that the European Union has largely ensured peace on a continent that was the scene of two world wars. The integration of Central and Eastern European countries after the collapse of socialism and the improvement of human rights that followed in most countries that joined the Union can also be considered a historical contribution.

Most of them believed that the Nobel Peace Prize was actually an incentive for the future, for the EU to dedicate itself more to building peace. Today, the criticisms of the opponents of awarding the prize sound more than reasonable. The EU, using the example of BiH, shows that without the US, it cannot be a factor of stability. The same applies to Kosovo. Only nine years after the award, the EU itself is closer to its own disintegration than to the role of a policeman who can maintain peace. Great Britain has left the EU, and right-wing movements in Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, and Croatia are increasingly bastions of fascism rather than respect for human rights.