Post date: Oct 12, 2012 8:23:52 PM
The European Union winning the Nobel peace prize is greeted with derision by Londonmarket traders who say the troubled bloc doesn't deserve it.
LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (OCTOBER 12, 2012) (REUTERS) - Traders at a bustling central London market were scornful of the European Union being awarded the Nobel peace prize on Friday (October 12).
"What rubbish" exclaimed Arthur Hooker, a book trader.
"It's not working is it? The European Union isn't working at the moment so why give it a peace prize?" he added.Others also raised their eyebrows at the news.
"Bit of a strange choice really," said one woman.
The European Union is regarded with scepticism by many in Britain, with growing calls for the UK to pull out of the 27-nation bloc.
Many view Brussels politicians and civil servants as riding the EU gravy train.
"They are looking after themselves. They are on hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of wages and then looking after themselves," said Tim Driscoll a flower trader.
He did not think the EU deserves the peace prize.
"They might want to help people, but they don't actually do it. There is no real going out there and helping people that really need it. They live in their own little world, there own little bubble," he said.
Prime Minister David Cameron is under increasing pressure to hold a referendum on Britain's relationship with the EU. He has pledged to hold one in 2015.
Europe has divided the centre-right Conservatives for decades and helped to bring down the party's last two prime ministers, Margaret Thatcher and John Major.