*** ANTONIS ANTONIADIS, ROBERT SCHÜTZE, ELEANOR SPAVENTA (Editors): The European Union and Global Emergencies. A Law and Policy Analysis. Hart Publishing (16 Worcester Place, Oxford, OX1 2JW, UK. Tel: (44-1865) 517530 - fax: 510710 - Email: mail@hartpub.co.uk - Internet: http://www.hartpub.co.uk ). "Modern Studies in European Law" series, No. 26. 2011, 307 pp, £50. ISBN 978-1-84946-082-8.
This book stems from an international conference organised just less than two years ago by the University of Durham Legal Institute, with the support of the European Commission. It mainly tackles the way in which the EU27 deals with emergency situations: political crises linked to terrorist action, acts of war, natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis…) or economic and financial crises, for example. It is therefore obvious that on the basis of this last point, this book is indeed extremely pertinent with regard to what is going on at the moment, so much so that Sir David Edward from the very beginning of the book in his forward argues that larger member states are the only ones that have the necessary instruments to play a role in these kinds of situations, even though they spend most of their time parading, “their disagreements in public while claiming the credit for any success”. This senior administrator from European Legal Institute in Durham says that the situation is even worse because the states, “hardly even try to present a united front to the rest of the world”. The way these situations have been managed over recent years, such as the Georgian crisis, tensions in Libya and, since 2008, the banking and financial debacles, in addition to the current torment into which increasing amounts of sovereign debt have been thrown, this observation is at the same time both realistic and sombre. Nonetheless, should we be surprised by all this and at the same time moved by it? The Union really and truly is in this field the non-identified political subject previously illustrated by Jacques Delors: it is, on the contrary, part of a “novel experiment in continental governance”, which it has barely had time or the opportunity to develop a clearly defined constitutional philosophy in the area of emergency management. It has often empirically improvised under the pressure forced on it by the train of events and its very first demonstration of its ability to adapt to emergency situations was demonstrated during the first oil crisis 1974. Since then, the editors of the book explain in their introduction that these states have set up an institution, the European Council that constitutes a “pragmatic mixture of intergovernmentalism and supranationalism”, but which rapidly provided a, “significant impetus to the supranational Community, particularly relevant at times of crisis”.
The different essays in this volume aim to identify the resources the European Union gradually managed to acquire to tackle emergencies. They also seek to examine how these resources are used in real emergency situations. The book is divided into three parts. The first focuses on the provisions in the Union's constitutional framework and how this and is used to manage emergency situations. Professor Marise Cremona (European University Institute of Florence) explains that the Union mainly developed four appropriate instruments: the Humanitarian Aid Regulation; the Stability Instrument; Civil Protection Mechanism and the crisis management missions within the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy. She also demonstrates that the Union used powers that are not part of the scope for dealing with emergencies of this kind, but which indeed provide the possibilities for developing another potentially interesting instrument. Alan Dashwood (Cambridge University) examines the conflict of competences that can occur in managing emergency situations and argues that everything should be done to avoid prevarication and delay in order to provide a response on the ground. Robert Schütze (Durham University) analyses the constitutional principles framing the delegation of power to European institutions and agencies, as well as other international bodies.
In the second part of the book, the authors focus on real crisis situations that involve a Union contribution to resolving armed conflicts in neighbouring countries, such as the conflicts that have occurred in Southern Ossetia and Abkhazia, the implications posed by the threat of terrorism in the field of human rights, energy supply, global financial governance in the light of the international financial crisis, debt crises. Antonis Antoniadis, a legal adviser to the European ombudsman and senior lecturer at Durham University, provides an extremely insightful contribution in his essay on the European Economic Constitution and other Greek Fables, encroachments and other distortions to food law, as well as the trafficking of human beings. The final part of the book provides an interesting clarification of the previous chapters and examines the point of view of the European institutions. The three final contributions provide a practical idea of the way in which overall constitutional considerations are taken into account by those who are responsible for managing emergency situations when they break out. This book is indeed an extremely comprehensive contribution to understanding this complex field!
Michel Theys
*** REED BRODY: Faut-il juger George Bush ? Pleins feux sur un rapport qui dénonce la torture et l'impunité. André Versaille éditeur (Centre Dansaert, 7 rue d'Alost, B-1000 Bruxelles. Internet: http://www.andreversailleediteur.com ) et Groupe de recherche et d'information sur la paix et la sécurité (Grip, 467 ch. de Louvain, B-1030 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2418420 - fax: 2451933 - Email: admi@grip.org - Internet: http://www.grip.org ). “L'International en jeu" series, No. 2. 2011, 124 pp. €9.90. ISBN 978-2-87495-163-3.
Should the former president of the US, George W. Bush, have to stand trial for having allowed waterboarding and other abuses that the US and other democracies consider as acts of torture? Should senior officials in the Bush Administration who authorised the forced disappearances of certain prisoners in secret CIA prisons or the transfer of other prisoners (extraordinary rendition) to countries where they would very likely to be tortured, be accountable for the action that they have taken? It is to these very loaded questions that this book seeks to provide a semblance of a response on the basis of a damning and hard-hitting report by Human Rights Watch. This human rights organisation was in fact first set up in the US. Reed Brody is the organisation's legal adviser and spokesman and personally penned four of the reports on the treatment of prisoners in the US since 11 September 2001. The thrust of this contribution focuses on the UN report, which dissects a number of fundamental questions relating to international justice, namely impunity and ethical differences between democracies and authoritarian regimes in times of war. In his introduction, Jean-Paul Marthoz, a journalist, points out that, “for the supporters of exemplary democracies… criminal acts committed by democratic governments are much more serious than if these acts had been committed by dictatorships because by transgressing the values that constitute their very essence, they undeniably undermine their own legitimacy, integrity and unicity”. The Belgian journalist also warns that those who, “caution use of abusive and strong arm practices” are often those who, if needs be, will give in without very much soul-searching, to the temptation of placing constitutional guarantees and the rule of law on hold, using the pretext of… saving democracy. This is very much the case given that in Washington, “senior leaders in the Bush Administration effectively used the pretext of 11 September to apply measures that responded less to what was needed or to an emergency and more to the determination of translating older ideas dear to the heart of the most conservative and illiberal actors in the US into government action “. Is it really necessary to point out that absolutely no democracy can ever be immune to such drift and distortion if they are tempted to go down this road? (MT)
*** Politica Exterior. Editions Estudios de Politica Exterior (49 Nuñez de Balboa, E-28001 Madrid. Tel: (34-91) 4312628 - fax: 5777252 - Email: revista@politicaexterior.com - Internet: http://www.politicaexterior.com ). July/August and September/October 2011, No. 142 and 143, 186 and 170 pp, €13.
This summer edition of this well-known and consistently high-quality Spanish publication focuses on Germany. This country now finds itself at the control panel in Europe but, nevertheless, is not too eager to charge ahead in critical moments unless it is accompanied by France. Another article discusses the “strangulation” of some countries on Europe's periphery. The following issue focuses more on Latin America but there is also an article on the rise of the far Right in Europe. (MT)
*** Rivista di studi politici internazionali. Casa Editrice Le Lettere (8 piazza dei Nerli, I-50124 Firenze. Tel: (39-55) 2342710 - fax: 2346010 - Email: staff@lelettere.it - Internet: http://www.lelettere.it ). April/June 2011, No.78, 160 pp. €18 (Italy) or €21 (abroad). ISBN 88-88321-87-X.
This issue of the prestigious Italian publication includes an article by the former Permanent Representative Pietro Calamia in which he provides a positive retrospective on the progress made with the introduction of the Lisbon Treaty. Other contributions examine the European thinking of Karl Jaspers, the Arab Spring and other subjects. (MT)