London ( CNN ) -- It has often been said that the European Union is the most ambitious conflict management project ever undertaken . Over the past sixty years , it has certainly transformed the ways in which the peoples and countries of Europe work with one another . For example , the idea that force -- or even the threat of force -- could ever be used as a means of dealing with problems is simply unthinkable . It is this change in the very way that Europeans think about each other that has been recognized by the Nobel Committee . Peace Prize is slap on the back for a struggling European Union . However , looking beyond the example of Franco-German reconciliation , and the reunification of East and West Europe after the end of the Cold War , many wonder whether the European Union has managed to bring about as much peace and stability as is generally supposed . In some cases , the verdict is clearly positive . In Northern Ireland , for example , the European Union has certainly helped to lessen tensions and create a more peaceful situation . Although fundamental differences remain over sovereignty , the EU has played an instrumental role in creating conditions whereby the day to day elements of territorial division are less important than ever before . Meanwhile , over in the Eastern Mediterranean , the European Union played a key role -- albeit indirectly -- in creating the conditions for a rapprochement between Greece and Turkey ; a process that still continues even though Turkish membership now appears distant . This too is an important success . Elsewhere , though , the picture is rather less positive . In the case of Cyprus , the EU certainly provided the impetus for conflict resolution . By announcing its commitment to admit a divided Cyprus , the Union forced Turkey and the then Turkish Cypriot leadership to adopt a more constructive approach to reunification talks than had previously been the case . The problem was that the EU failed to create safeguards to ensure that the Greek Cypriots would also play ball . This has come to be been seen by many as a major failing . Cyprus is still unresolved after almost a decade of EU membership . But it is in the Balkans that the award has been greeted with the greatest degree of skepticism . From the moment the news first broke , people from the region have responded with incredulity . Many have pointed out the negative role played the Union in the region in the 1990s . By failing to take a united position at the very earliest stages of the crisis , the EU is widely seen to have contributed to the bloody events that followed . At the same time , its failure to respond more decisively to the conflict once it had broken out is seen by many to have cost tens of thousands of lives . Meanwhile , looking to the present , the European Union is still felt by many on the region to be falling short well short of its lofty ideals . Although EU officials insist that the Union is still keen to enlarge , and will eventually include the countries of the Western Balkans , in reality many believe that it is not committed to doing so . This is now feeding renewed fears of instability . Reconciliation and cooperation has , for better or for worse , been driven by a sense that the region is moving towards the European Union membership . Without that perspective , there are fears that the countries may slide back into nationalism . Looked at from the perspective of most of the continent , the award is richly deserved . Countries with a long history of conflict now live together in peace . However , in one corner of Europe , there are many who are less willing to cheer the decision of the committee . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of James Ker-Lindsay .
The EU is often seen as most ambitious conflict management project ever undertaken . But Ker-Lindsay questions whether it has brought about as much peace as people think . He points to the still unresolved situation in Cyprus as a major failing . However , it is in the Balkans that the prize has been greeted with most skepticism he says .