(CNN) -- Back in 1950, the European Reconstruction Program organized a contest for posters promoting the U.S. Marshall Plan. Among over 10,000 entries, the winner was Reijn Dirksen, then barely 25 years old. His entry portrayed a ship braving stormy waters and a dark fog, pulled forward by multiple sails: the Continent's flags. The hull of the ship was made of letters spelling "Europe" and the caption read, "All our colours to the mast." Early on Friday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo did something unusual: Instead of rewarding the Nobel Peace Prize to an individual, it gave it to the European Union -- an international institution facing a 3-year-old existential crisis that looks nowhere close to being over.
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Pierpaolo Barbieri: Nobel Peace Prize awarded to European Union stirred controversy
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He says the EU helps ensure peace after a century of war and dictatorship
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Europe is the world's largest market, offering an arena for trade and commerce, he says
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Barbieri: Europe financial crisis reveals need for reform, but EU is still worth having
And beyond the @placeholder, it has proven that post-national integration is not only possible, but also desirable.