Quakers and the European Union: the future
Oliver Robertson, in the second of two articles, continues his reflections on Friends’ relationship with Europe
The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union (EU) in 2012 was widely mocked in Britain. Yet its achievements have been among the most impressive of all Nobel laureates: building a sustainable and enduring peace across a continent that had, for centuries previously, been one of the bloodiest and most warlike in the world.
Since joining the Union, no EU member state has ever gone to war against another. The level of cooperation between European countries is great: from beginning as a trading and customs bloc, cooperation has expanded to include the environment, justice and even foreign affairs (at the United Nations, EU countries start work a couple of hours early because they need to agree a common position first before meeting with other nations).
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