*** ELVIRE FABRY (Ed.): Think Global - Act European. The Contribution of 16 European Think Tanks to the Polish, Danish and Cypriot Trio Presidency of the European Union. Notre Europe (19 rue de Milan, F-75009 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 44589797 - Fax: 44589799 - email: info@notre-europe.eu - Internet: http://www.notre-europe.eu ). 2011, 384 pp.
The Notre Europe association so highly prized by Jacques Delors and now headed by another man who is sorely missed in Brussels, namely former Portuguese Commissioner Antonio Vitorino (who wrote the preface to this book) has made the excellent move of bringing a number of think-tanks together to formulate advice and recommendations for the trio of countries holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU over the next eighteen months. Fourteen think-tanks formulated advice to the previous trio (Spain, Belgium and Hungary), compared with sixteen this time round. Notre Europe has paid great attention for the current trio to work with researchers from the three countries concerned, namely DemosEuropa from Poland, the Danish Institute for International Studies and the Cyprus Centre for European and International Affairs.
Some might ask whether such an initiative is still relevant now there is a permanent President of the European Council and the EU High Representative chairs the Foreign Affairs Council, but in the introduction, Elvire Fabry and colleagues from the most active of the think-tanks comment on the Polish Presidency that "This rotating Presidency's responsibilities (…) will continue to be vital to the proper functioning of the EU" and although "until now, forming a Trio out of three rotating presidencies has not brought many benefits," the situation in Europe is so serious that well-meaning intellectuals are doing their utmost to improve the way they cooperate. For a year and a half now, governance of the EU has been subject to unprecedented "stress tests" and the current and next two presidencies will have to see"whether Europeans are determined to stay united," no less! A question on which the special eurozone summit on Thursday 21 July 2011 will provide some initial indications…
Against the backdrop of this decidedly existential crisis, it is clear to the authors that the rotating presidencies still have the ability to oil the wheels and encourage compromise by working behind the scenes, usually where nobody is able to judge the importance of their work. The editors urge them to reaffirm the central rôle of the General Affairs Council, which would give it greater visibility and influence. This is just one of a series of suggestions set out in this very rich study that examines all the key issues on the EU agenda for the following weeks and months. Incredibly useful work! Michel Theys
*** L'Europe en formation. Revue d'études sur la construction européenne et le fédéralisme - Journal of Studies on European Integration and Federalism. Centre international de formation européenne (10 av. des Fleurs, F-06000 Nice. Tel: (33-4) 93979397 - Fax: 93979398 - email: europe.formation@cife.eu - Internet: http://www.europeenformation.eu ). 2011, No. 359, 176 pp, €20. Annual subscription: €50.
This issue of the review established by the bard of hardline federalism, the late Alexandre Marc, has a fascinating special report on federalism and democracy, all the essays in which examine the institutional organisation of Europe and the role played by citizens. The issue opens with a very topical article by economist Nico Groenendijk of Twente University, showing that central governments still take the lion's share of the budget. He points out that this imbalance damages the legitimacy of the European Union and in his view, the model of cooperative federalism - which involves either the sharing out of tax or joint taxation - is the way out of the current financial deadlock. In a similar spirit, another essay compares and contrasts the capital cities of Berlin and Brussels. Berlin is part of a cooperative federal system, which gives it the benefit of financial autonomy, compared with Brussels, which is part of a competitive federal system. The opposite applies, however, in terms of responsibility and financial transparency. The remainder of the special report (and the remainder of this issue) is just as less fascinating. (MT)
*** GRUPPO DEI 10: Partecipare alla formazione delle leggi UE. Istituto Luigi Sturzo (35 via delle Coppelle, Rome. Tel: (39-6) 6840421 - Fax: 68404244 - email: infopoint@sturzo.it - Internet: http://www.sturzo.it ). 2011, 53 pp.
Italy should play a more active rôle in the preparation of European laws, be they directives, regulations, recommendations or a different type of standards. This is the view of the 'Group of Ten,' a club of European Union experts which has been publishing regular documents for years now on how to boost Italy's rôle in the European integration process. The Group of Ten meets at the Sturzo Institute in Rome and is chaired by engineer Flavio Mondello, who for decades was Confindustria representative at the EU institutions. The groups members are former diplomats, officials and university professors, all of whom have taken an active rôle in the European integration project. In its most recent document, the twenty-ninth, the Group of Ten explains how the EU's legislative system operates, paying particular attention to draft legislation on the EU's immigration policy The idea of Mondello and his team is to improve the information provided to Italians about what goes on in Brussels and also to get Italy to take its rôle in Europe far more seriously. The authors say that only people taking a responsible approach to European Union activities have the right to influence them. Complaining after decisions are taken is pointless and and doesn't achieve anything. (GBa/Gp)
*** SILVANA PARUOLO: La nuova Unione Europea. L'UE tra allargamento e vicinato, crisi verticite, vecchie e nuove strategie. Lulu Editore (Internet: http://www.lulu.com ). 2010, 551 pp. ISBN 978-1-4461-8347-2.
Silvana Paruolo is the author of 'Idee di Mercato.' She describes her new book as “an attempt to explain the challenges facing Europe”. Making use of a huge selection of useful documentation, she makes an analysis of the Lisbon Treaty and deals with the European Union's relations with other international organisations, particularity the G8 and the G20, the economic crisis, industrial policy and energy policy. Particular attention is paid to controversial security and defence issues and the currently unanswered question of whether there will be an EU army at some point. A reporter long committed to the European arena, Silvana Paruolo marries her passion for Europe with the painstaking, intellectual precision of the researcher She helps readers understand the ins and outs of the often complicated EU mechanisms In the preface, Gianni Pitella, Vice-President of the European Parliament, expanse that Silvana Paruolo's book is a useful tool for people who say that the way out of the current crisis is more Europe and greater European integration. (G.Ba/Gp)
*** DAVIDE CACI, FULVIO GAMBOTTO, MATTIA SURROZ: La nebbia e il granito. 001 Edizioni (20 via Beaumont, I-10138 Turin. email: stampa@001edizioni.com - Internet: http://www.001edizioni.com ). 2010, 128 pp, €16.
Altiero Spinelli is one of the Fathers of Europe, but his name generates little feeling among young Italians, few of whom even know who he was. In order to ensure the next generations of Italians and Europeans understand more about Spinelli, Davide Caci, Fulvio Gambotto and Mattia Surroz decided to retell his story in the form of a cartoon. Surroz's pictures evoke the time between the World Wars, and the text by Caci and Gambotto, adapted from Spinelli's own writing, is very of the moment. The story of 'La Nebbia e il Granito' (Snow and Granite) stops before the end of Spinelli's life because it ends when he was released in August 1943, immediately after the collapse of fascism in Italy, after spending sixteen years in prison and internal exile on the islands of Ponza and Ventotene. The cartoons show that Spinelli was born in 1907 and died in 1986. He took an interest in politics from his teenage years and after a brief spell as a socialist activist, he joined the Communist Party at the age of 17. Arrested and imprisoned for conspiracy in 1927, he spent his sixteen years of imprisonment and internal exile gradually distancing himself from the Communist Party. During thus time, he made the acquaintance of Eugenio Colorni and Ernesto Rossi and it was with Ernesto Rossi that in 1942 he wrote the 'Manifesto for a Free and United Europe,' which remains to this day a crucial reference document for the European federalist movement. (G. Ba/Gp)