ENDA KENNY IS to travel to Norway this morning with 17 other European leaders to collect the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the EU.
The Taoiseach’s office said he will be present at the ceremony in Oslo City Hall but it is understood that the award will be presented to the three Presidents of the main EU institutions – Martin Schultz, José Manuel Barroso and Herman van Rompuy.
Kenny will be joined by Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Francois Hollande but British Prime Minister David Cameron, Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt and Czech President Vaclav Klaus all decided to skip the event.
Of the snub, Cameron said, “There will be enough people to collect the prize.”
After the ceremony, Kenny will attend a gathering for visiting heads of State and Government, hosted by Prime Minister Stoltenberg. He will also hold a bi-lateral meeting with the Norway leader, as well as with Danish Prime Minister Hell Thorning-Schmidt.
The Nobel Committee 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. Although the decision was met with some ridicule, the almost €1 million in prize money is to be donated to children affected by war and conflit.
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