*** GERARD BOSSUAT: Emile Noël, premier secrétaire général de la Commission européenne. Editions Bruylant (Groupe De Boeck, 39 rue des Minimes, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5480713 - fax: 5480714 - Email: commande@deboeckservices.com - Internet: http://www.bruylant.be ). "Droit de l'Union européenne / Monographies" series, No. 2. 2011, 473 pp, €75. ISBN 978-2-8027-2913-6.
During one of his most recent interviews on French TV, President Sarkozy referred to General de Gaulle as the first of all the builders of contemporary Europe. What about Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet? Unknown to the battalion of the Gaullist Fifth Republic! It is on this theme that this very specific flavour of this book is based by a French writer and historian. His historical perspective means that he provides an un-blinkered insight, free from any ideological prejudice and from the beginning of his book he writes that, “writing the history of Noël leads to revising the place reserved for history's rejects, crushed by the Gaullists of the Fifth Republic”. Through archives and oral witness accounts, Gérard Bossuat, Emeritus Professor at the University of Cergy-Pontoise and ad personam Jean Monnet Chair on the history of European unity, provides a brilliant description of one of the figures hidden from French history but who nevertheless stamped his personal seal on Europe's history, particularly at the Commission of which she was the Executive Secretary and then Secretary General for almost 30 years. It is undoubtedly because he served his institution too well that his name has been deliberately obscured by those who share a certain vision of France …
Emile Noël was born in Istanbul of a Belgian father and a mother born in Marseille. He became head of the household at 12 years of age, following the death of his father. He pursued his studies in France, obtained a degree from the prestigious Ecole Normale Supérieure in science. As a volunteer in the French resistance, his “French trajectory” would take significant detour when he joined the International Secretariat of the European Movement and even more so when he began working for the Assembly of the Council of Europe at the end of the 1940s, when he takes charge of a project for European political union. Later, he returns to work exclusively in France and becomes the assistant director of the Cabinet of Guy Mollet, President of the Council. But Europe will definitively have him in its embrace before too long. After his political mentor asks him to personally follow the Treaty of Rome negotiations, he becomes the first Executive Secretary of the Commission of the Common Market. From then on, this dedicated European begins to see Europe as being more important than France insofar as he is responsible for managing, “the different ways of accessing sovereignty, which regularly impacts on the major Community states”, especially France, during the era of General de Gaulle. He carries out this task successfully, in the eyes of the author, “although France does not exclusively consist of the haughty opposition of General de Gaulle with regard to the European Communities, it is Noël who proposes to French leaders an intelligent and productive European line of action. Towards member countries, his tone adopted towards France is also appropriate and he never loses sight of the Community interest”. Therefore, the historian and writer of this book describes Noël in 1985, at a time when relations between President Mitterrand and Chancellor Kohl was subject to a certain amount of strain, “with both of them having questions with regard to their counterpart and considering that perhaps this was the time to push forward with regard to the situation affecting the 10 member states and not only the Franco-German duo”. Gérard Bossuat explains that the reaction of Noël can be explained by the permanent attention he paid to the Community spirit. Who, today, at the Commission or in the entourage of the stable presidency of the European Council would attempt to underline the situation of the 27 member states and not just the Merkel-Sarkozy duo? Who, in these troubled times, would remember that, according to the author, Emile Noël had already observed with concern at the end of his mandate, “a certain disintegration” in the Community system, “under the impetus of the major states, that through the European Council had appropriated the ability to cynically push through their own national interests and also prevent the expansion of the areas covered by the Community remit”? Apparently, no one at all and in the meantime… the European Union continues to suffer from its intractable drift …
The amazing life of Emile Noël, in addition to his professional trajectory, required a superlatively meticulous account, which Gérard Bossuat unfailingly provides. Nonetheless, it is just too vast a subject to be described with total accuracy in this brief review. It is, nonetheless, important for the reader to know that the author provides clarification with both a rigorous and highly readable style with regard to the role played by this, “Hallstein Commission mechanic”. The author provides this account in light of the debate regarding the single seat of the Communities and the preparatory work on the merger of the executives and the way in which Noël responded to the challenge in this connection set him by Gaullist France. Bossuat confirms throughout this book that the, “Luxembourg arrangement of January 1996” was not a compromise in the way he assumed the role of pilot for the Commission. This substantial book looks at the way in which Noël managed to carve out a place for himself at the summits and European Councils. The Secretary General of the Commission was even put in charge, thanks to the support of Germany, of the conclusions of the heads of state and government. His role in overcoming the budgetary crisis caused by British demands (London has never ceased its little game with Brussels, according to Bossuat), “a complex game involving intelligence, manoeuvre and seduction but irredeemably anti- Community and anti-European”. This also applies to the Community's external relations and the way that this is scrutinised as methodically. The book ends with an illustration on the main convictions close to the heart of Emile Noël, “the great navigator of Europe… a prototype of the European citizen… an example of a secular saint in the European project”, even though this great man will never be painted as such at the Pantheon…
Michel Theys
*** JEAN-MARC FAVRET: L'essentiel de l'Union européenne. Ses institutions et son droit. Gualino éditeur (Lextenso éditions, 33 rue du Mail, F-75081 Paris Cedex 02. Tel: (33-1) 56541600 - fax: 56541649 - Internet: http://www.lextenso-editions.fr "Les Carrés Droit/Science politique" series. 2011, 102 pp, 11 euros. ISBN 978-2-297-01873-9.
In this book, which is in its 11th edition, a teaching expert at the Faculty of Law in Bayonne and an adviser to the Administrative Court of Appeal in Nancy provides a highly pedagogical account, in 20 different clear and didactic essays, on the European Union and the law it covers. This book is likely to be of interest to students but also to anyone interested in finding out in a methodical and chronological way how the complex Union functions. The different aspects covered in the study include the main stages of European construction, expansion, the seats of the institutions, the decision-making process, the hierarchy of standards, the ways in which appeals are made in European law and the relationship between European law and the law of the European Convention of Human Rights.
(PBo)
*** 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. 361, 136 pp, €20. Abonnement: €50. La diffusion de l'Europe en formation sur Internet est assurée par la plateforme de revues scientifiques électroniques Cairn.info à l'adresse http://www.cairn.info/revue-l-europe-en-formation.htm
This edition of the publication created by convinced federalist Alexandre Marc, focuses for the main part on the different implications of Europe stemming from the global crisis. This has previously been subject to a de-codification exercise carried out by Hartmut Marhold, director-general of the International Centre for European Training. Professor Philippe Saunier (University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis and former Dean that the Institute for Peace and Development) expresses a number of, “considerations on the effects of the banking crisis”, which has led to a lot of people coming out in a cold chill, as well as at a philosophical level. He states that, “five centuries of continued development in economic trade inexorably buried 2500 years of philosophy”. He adds that, “this effectively means the power of money. Materialism has taken precedence over philosophy, whilst also annexing the state and casting aside both religion and culture”. This has even taken a turn for the worse insofar. He shows that the international financial crisis that developed in the US in an extremely short period modified the consistency of the international financial system but, “failed to convince the world's leaders of the need to make contact again with what constitutes the deepest roots of human societies”. The author therefore argues that, “no one has suggested prising free the jaws of the banks and finance from the daily lives of citizens”. The states have chosen instead to, “save inter-banking credit and the car salesmen”. They now find themselves downgraded by the notation agencies due to sovereign debt and, “the institutions of representative democracy continually tear themselves apart” to hide this fact. Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poors only have to ask states to strengthen the credibility of budget deficit reduction measures and they do as they're told, whilst they all individually turned a deaf ear when the Commission asked them to correct the same drift in the past. The crisis extends its grip and, “ the private institutions play the role of arbiter that no international or supranational organisation has been able to play”. In an effort to meet the demands of the private institutions, states implement austerity measures that mainly affect their citizens. Professor Saunier sees another consequence of this drift in governance: it is now slowly eating away at the very foundations of European integration and opening the floodgates to inward looking nationalism. He also explains that the political and moral crisis unfurling throughout the EU 27 kicked along by the bankers, who are holing up snugly in dried out offices, cannot hope to win the support of its citizens. This really does require considerable reflection by those who still want to preserve the mainstay of the European project …
Other contributions focus on the viability of the Eurozone, adaptations required by Economic and Monetary Union due to the crisis, sustainable development strategies in light of the 2008 crisis and, amongst others, the opening up of the energy markets and their regulation.
(MT)
*** Confrontations Europe (227 bld. Saint-Germain, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 43173283 - fax: 45561886 - Email: confrontations@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http://www.confrontations.org ). October-December 2011, No. 96, 48 pp, €7.
Former MEP, Philippe Herzog begins his editorial on the following note, “the mistakes, shortcomings and divisions that harm European political governance are costing us dear”. He calls for a federalist solution to the crisis. In his eyes, the problem is due to European societies remaining, “marked by the narrowness of national cultures”, which as a result, naturally do not cultivate solidarity. He also considers that the problem is also down to the conflicts between those championing the Community way forward and the supporters of the inter-governmental project. The only objective that can be attained is that of consolidating the euro zone by creating a genuine European monetary fund as early as 2012 and, if needs be, issuing Eurobonds. Herzog is now an adviser to Commissioner Barnier and he considers that there is no question of making taxpayers pick up the tab to bail out the banks. The Union is also urged to develop a banking policy because the current absence of such a policy is one of the great failings of the single market. In an effort to seek a crisis exit strategy it is important that the cure of getting rid of the debt does not turn into a nightmare, due to a lack of growth. Philippe Herzog calls on political leaders, “to prepare for the setting up of a European Minister for the economy and Finance”. He also appeals for Franco-German dialogue to be developed in the direction of a federalist leap forward and in close collaboration with all countries, which accept this principle. He concludes that, “economic integration requires supranational political strength. Does this mean a government for the Eurozone alone or for the whole Union? In principle, he considers that this should be the case for the Eurozone and for all the other states that wish to join. The door is open, consolidating the euro zone is in the interest of everyone, therefore those that do not want to join, such as the United Kingdom, must cease obstructing developments in the regulation of the financial system and in the development of a genuine budget”. By the time you read these lines, you will know whether this wise appeal has been listened to in the different member states… in any case Alain Lamassoure MEP appreciated it. In the same vein he said that, “it is better to work with a country that is still not a member of the euro zone but which is strongly pro-European than with a country in Euro land but which has become Eurosceptic and politically incapable of continuing with integration”. Let's hope this spirit of healthy revolt can have the same effect at the European Council at the end of next week …
It should also be noted that in this issue there are also other “papers” focusing on the economic and financial crisis, a feature looking at social dialogue and industrial relations, to solve the competitiveness and solidarity equation and a remarkable “lesson” provided by Professor Pierre Rosanvallon and the launch of this vital appeal to European democracies, “rather than tackle it with haughty contempt, the populist phenomenon propagating itself throughout the Union, should be taken seriously”.
(MT)
*** CHARLES ANDRE: L'Europe à la croisée des chemins. Internationalisme marxiste et fédéralisme. Fédérop (Le Pont du Rôle, F-24680 Gardonne. Internet: http://www.federop.com ). « Textes fédéralistes » Series. 1979, 317 pp.
Fédérop publishing has decided to add some impetus by publishing two series that were created in 1975 by French federalist activists but which had almost been totally forgotten about. These include two texts on National Minorities and Federalist Texts. This book is written by a former official at the Commission, who is, above all, a militant socialist. It has formed part of the most recent series since… 1979. Obviously, the world has completely changed since this era but it proves, nevertheless, an extremely useful exercise to take note of in these times where Europe is seeking to win the support of an increasing number of disappointed citizens, as well as the reasons for this discontent that has always existed. In his preface, the former French MP Jean-Pierre Cot is displeased with me Europe of the Common Market, this expression that explains how much this spirit underpins the institutions of the Treaty of Rome. In his book, Charles André denounces the contrast between the commercial giant of the Community of the time and its equivalent political dwarfism. He considers that liberal economics has become the norm, which is equivalent to “Europe-treason”. He is not, however, sure why, for other reasons, some Europeans still do not share his opinion today.
(MT)