UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Friday extended the "sincere congratulations" to the European Union (EU) on its receipt of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. "On behalf of the entire United Nations family, I extend our sincere congratulations to the European Union on its receipt of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize," Ban said in a statement read to the press at a daily news briefing here by his spokesman Martin Nesirky. "Today, an indispensable partner to the United Nations has been given a richly-deserved recognition of its accomplishments and its importance in Europe and around the world," the statement said. The EU was awarded the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize for advancing " peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe," said Thorbjoen Jagland, chairman of the Norweigian Nobel Committee, in Oslo, earlier on Friday.