US actress Parker hails EU as example for America

Parker said that while it might be controversial to have awarded the 27-nation EU the prestigious award as it struggles with a financial crisis that is causing hardship to many, it is "a terrific blueprint for us," and one the U.S. should learn from.

"I don't know how we can't," she said in an interview before the Nobel Concert she is hosting with Scottish actor Gerard Butler. "It is also a story that we are trying to tell in our country. We are trying to say to one another: We are different. We are a divided nation, but our goals in many ways are the same.

"We have had two elections that have been really painful for our country."

Not everyone approved the decision to give the prize to the EU, which was created 60 years ago as Europe was struggling to recover from a war that killed millions of people. Three Peace Prize laureates — South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mairead Maguire of Northern Ireland and Adolfo Perez Esquivel from Argentina — said the bloc should not receive the $1.2 million in Peace Prize money because it relies on military force to ensure security.