Gobshite Gilmore

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said today, that parties of the centre left in Europe needed to prove that they had “credible answers” for the economic crisis.

Addressing a conference of European social democrat politicians on "Progressive Governance", the Leader of Labour in the right wing Coalition Government, said the European mood has shifted towards the centre left, “But we have to build now, on that success.”

Earlier on the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the EU, he said it was a "great fillip" to Ireland's forthcoming presidency of the European Council next year, saying;



“I very warmly welcome the decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union,” told reporters in Dublin shortly after the announcement this morning.

“The European Union has been the most successful peace process in our lifetime, and indeed in our living memory.," he said.

"When you think of the fact that Europe, in the first half of the 20th century, tore itself apart, slaughtered its young in two great wars and that the protagonists in those wars came together, worked to develop the EU. The wars of the 20th century that occurred in Europe would be unthinkable now.

“When you look as well at the role the European Union has played in reaching out to parts of the European continent, like the Balkans, where only 20 years ago we saw slaughter and genocide, now some of those countries are already members or about to be members of the European Union and others, there are enlargement negotiations going on with them.

“Indeed, the role that the EU has played in supporting peace processes and peace efforts in different parts of our continent, including the financial support that the EU has provided for the peace process in Ireland. I think it’s a great recognition of the peaceful role and the role in contributing to peace that the European Union has made.

“We so often think of the EU in economic terms and political terms. But it is a decision which causes us to stand back and look at the fact that the EU has made such a huge contribution to the maintenance of peace in Europe, to the promotion of peace on our continent and to supporting the efforts that are needed to bed down peace.”