EU to win 2012 Nobel Peace Prize, says Norway public radio

OSLO (REUTERS) - The European Union will win the Nobel Peace Prize for its historic role in uniting the continent in an award that plays down the euro zone's debt crisis, according to Norway's NRK public radio.

The prize, worth US$1.2 million (S$1.49 million), will be presented in Oslo on Dec 10. The decision by the five-member panel, led by Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjoern Jagland, was unanimous, NRK said.

"We have had confirmation from people whom we trust who say that it is the EU that will get the prize," NRK radio said, an hour before the prize announcement at 0900 GMT (5pm, Singapore time). The Nobel committee and the EU delegation to Norway was not immediately available for comment.

Founded with the Treaty of Rome in 1957 with a community of six nations seeking greater economic integration, the bloc has expanded to 27, including east European states added since the Cold War.