Barroso, Van Rompuy, Schulz to collect Nobel Peace Prize

The European Parliament in Brussels. The European Union has won the Nobel Peace Prize and European Parliament President Martin Schulz said on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012, that he, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU President Herman Van Rompuy will jointly collect the prize in Oslo. AP PHOTO/GEERT VANDEN WIJNGAERT

PARIS—European Parliament President Martin Schulz said on Wednesday that he, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU President Herman Van Rompuy will jointly collect the EU’s Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.

Schulz said he had met with Barroso and Van Rompuy late Tuesday in Brussels, where the trio came to the decision together.

“We’ll go together, us three,” Schulz told reporters in Paris Wednesday after meeting with French President Francois Hollande.

He added that they were undecided over who would deliver the acceptance speech on December 10, but said it was beside the point.

“In my view, it’s not that important who speaks. What’s symbolic is for the three European institutions to be there,” he said.

The Nobel Committee announced on Friday that it had awarded the peace prize to the European Union for bringing more than half a century of peace to a continent ripped apart by World War II, in a decision that was met with both praise and ridicule.