Kenny in Oslo, as EU collect Nobel Peace Prize

Taoiseach Enda Kenny will attend a ceremony today where the European Union (EU) will be awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr Kenny is in Oslo, Norway, where he will go to a meeting hosted by prime minister Jens Stoltenberg for visiting heads of state and governments.

He will also hold bilateral talks with Mr Stoltenberg and Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

The People’s Movement last night held a candlelight vigil outside the European Parliament Offices in Dublin against awarding the prize to the EU, of which Ireland will have presidency next year.

Protesters critical of the winning choice claimed the decision goes against the intentions of Alfred Nobel’s will that it should go to those who work for “fraternity among nations”.

Mairead Corrigan Maguire, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976, accused the EU of not upholding human rights for countries such as Palestine and for supporting the blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel.

The 2012 award will be jointly received by European Parliament president Martin Schulz, EC president Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council president Herman Van Rompuy.