*** ISABELLE VESTRIS: Le statut des régions ultrapériphériques de l'Union européenne. Editions Bruylant (39 rue des Minimes, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-10) 482511 - fax: 482693 - Email: commande@deboeckservices.com - Internet: http://www.bruylant.be ). « Droit de l'Union européenne / Thèses » series, No. 25. 2012, 670 pp. €95. ISBN 978-2-8027-3535-9.
As Professor Jacques Ziller indicates in his preface, Isabelle Vestris has developed in her Ph.D. thesis (and therefore in this publication, which provides an exceptional insight from outside academia), “a genuine and general theory of the legal concept of extreme remoteness in the broader context of differentiated integration”. Now working as a senior lecturer at the faculty of Law and economics in Martinique (Université des Antilles et de la Guyane), she demonstrates how extremely remote regions such as- Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Réunion, Saint Martin and since 2011, Mayotte, for France; the Azores and Madera, for Portugal; the Canaries, for Spain - are the embodiment in the European Union of a statutory model for differentiated integration.
Aristotle considered that there was no greater injustice than treating unequal things equally. The great designers of European integration have made this their own principles since the beginning of the adventure in the name of, “ideal justice” and the determination to provide equal treatment which required, “efforts, if needs be, of equality in treating unequal things unequally”. This search for equality has led the masters of the treaties to differentiate very quickly because it is true that, “equality in Community law cannot only be condensed into identical treatment of compatible situations that seeks to ensure identical rules do not apply to different situations”. The authors of the Treaty of Rome for the European Economic Community established from the 1950s that it is rules would apply according to specific modalities for overseas departments, as well as, at that time, to Algeria. Since then, with enlargement that has incorporated both Spain and Portugal, this quest for differentiation has not disappeared to the extent that there is well and truly Community law applying to overseas territories. In the first part of the book, Isabelle Vestris provides a scientific insight into both the source and approach that led Community Europe to recognise internal differences and to experiment with a broad range of solutions ranging from undifferentiated integration to externalisation. These two extremes incorporate other modes of partial integration, not to mention the association agreements, which are nothing other than the taking into account of the specific heritage of member states. With the legal response provided by ultra-remote regions to the huge challenge of, “deliberate recognition within integration of a high degree of differentiation” whilst taking into account the, “diverse and complex reality” a solution was found that combined pragmatism and equity. Nonetheless does this actually involve an appropriate model for satisfying the wishes of other small island entities? The author verifies whether this is the case in the second part of the study and provides a convincing account of the, “political limitations to the exporting of the differentiated integration model” to extremely remote regions. France, Spain and Portugal have attempted to ensure that these are not assimilated with the islands and other regions that have to confront more structural handicaps. Isabelle Vestris asserts, however, that this does indeed involve, “a differentiated integration model” that the European Union would be wise to continue to export, even elsewhere in the world, and subsequently confirms what the White Paper on governance affirms, “as a regional integration model in the whole world”.
This brilliant study (including its comprehensive annexes and exhaustive bibliography accompanying it) is also distinguished by the inventory of the different forms of differentiation, which the author provides throughout the book. She believes the differentiation is “co-substantial to Community construction” even if the notion takes on a more heterogeneous character. Although extremely remote regions are undoubtedly at the heart of current European affairs, who would dare claim that this is also the case for differentiation?
Michel Theys
*** ANDREJ WERTH: Raum - Region - Tirol. Die (De-)Konstruktion politischer Räume am Beispiel der Europaregion Tirol-Südtirol-Trentino. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, Postfach 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - fax: 3761727 - Email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). « Marie Jahoda sozialwissenschaftliche Studien series, No. 4. 2011, 297 pp. €44.70. ISBN 978-3-631-60703-9.
This book focuses on the regionalisation mechanism, particularly from a European point of view. It is divided into three main parts. The first tackles the notion of “space” through the different concepts developed by Aristotle and Emmanuel Kant. Andrej Werth also looks at the geopolitical concept that appeared in the 19th century and its application by the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler. The second part looks at the notion of “region”. In this perspective, the author first of all explains the different forms of regionalisation that exist. He continues by defining the word “region” as well as the other terms that can be associated with it. Andrej Werth draws up a typology of regions in his book and finishes with a presentation or the “Europe of regions”. The third and final part of the book takes, for example the Trentino-Alto Adige region that covers both Austria and Italy. The author provides a presentation of the ways in which the area has developed since its creation.
(SH)
*** CHRISTOPHE SOHN (Editor): Luxembourg. An Emerging Cross-border Metropolitan Region. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes - Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - fax: 3761727 - Email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). 2012, 313 pp. €42.70. ISBN 978-90-5201-798-3.
In this book, geographers and planners worked together in the Metrolux research project as co-ordinated by the Ceps/Instead research centre between 2007 and 2009. They focused on the development of cross-border relations in the perspective of the specific city of Luxembourg. In the first part of the book, the economic and financial advantages of this metropolitan region are presented, as well as its international influence on the business world. In the following section, different writers provide a detailed examination of the cross-border relationship that has developed between the Grand Duchy and its regional neighbours in Germany, Belgium and France, as well as the influences and inter-dependency that has developed in both directions, for example, a third of the workforce registered in Luxembourg come from these countries. Finally, in the third part of the book the different initiatives taken in this context involving governance in this Euro-region are meticulously studied.
(PBo)
*** JULIAN P. CHRIST: Innovative Places in Europe. Research Clustering, Co-Patenting Networks and the Growth of Regions. Peter Lang (see address attached). “Hohenheimer Volkswirtschaftliche Schriften” series, No. 67. 2012, 532 pp. €83.80. ISBN 978-3-631-63303-8.
This book stems from a PhD thesis defended at the University of Hohenheim. In it, the author provides a scientific and economic analysis of the way in which research activities are carried out and the subsequent innovations and patents that develop from this at a European level. These are examined on the basis of an alternative typological analysis and structural identification of the links and active networks in the patenting area at a pan-European level. The author also provides an analysis of the regional disparities affecting income and growth and he seeks to verify whether the different states and other urbane and metropolitan regions have per capita GDP growth rates that are higher than elsewhere. This book provides significant clarification of the different questions it examines and would be particularly for economists working in this area.
(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 ). 2012, No. 365, 260 pp. €20. Subscription: €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 extremely copious edition of this publication created 50 years ago by Alexandre Marc, a crucial flag bearer of federalism, includes a feature article on the issue of water in all its different dimensions: as a source of international conflicts, an obstacle to development, an instrument for domination, an area where all sorts of inequalities prevail, as well as an issue involving human rights, etc. In the first part of the book, the economist, Laurent Baechler, a lecturer at the International Centre for European Training illustrates the economic, political and social dimensions of the problem involving access to water. He subsequently underlines the necessity of reconciling, “efficient management of resources and solidarity with those most in need”. The other authors outline alternative paths regarding the use of water in agriculture and how to develop “greener” economies. They also look at the question of managing rivers and lakes between neighbouring states. The other contributions focus on the geopolitical aspects of water in, “Spain and the autonomous regions” in the context of the Murcia region, the Nile basin nerve centre and the “water war” which, according to certain commentators, is currently taking place in the Middle East. There is also a study in the other part on the, “Europe of citizens”, which focuses on the areas of education and public health between 1984 and 1989.
(MT)
*** MARC CLEMENT: Droit européen de l'environnement. Editions Larcier (Groupe De Boeck, 39 rue des Minimes, B-1000 Brussels. Tel.: (32-10) 482511 - fax: 482693 - Email: commande@deboeckservices.com - Internet: http://www.larcier.com ). 2012, 619 p., 100 €. ISBN 978-2-8044-5408-1.
What are the rights and responsibilities imposed by European Union law in the field of the environment? This excellent book attempts to provide some pecise answers to this question. In the preface, the vice president of the French Council of State, Jean-Marc Sauvé, presents this book in his preface as, “a tool for developing knowledge of jurisprudence”. In this second edition, the former legal expert at the European Commission's DG Environment explores around sixty different decisions made by the European Court of Justice, which provides them with a basis to illustrate the main characteristics of this now indispensable law. Now working as a judge at the Administrative Appeals Court in Lyon, Marc Clément develops his exploration on the basis of a transversal approach (general principles, public information and participation, the relationship developed between environmental law and the internal market). He then develops a sectoral approach in light of action taken by the Union in this field: aviation and industrial facilities, water, wildlife and biodiversity and waste disposal. These themes are then developed and incorporate other subjects such as protecting the ozone layer, emissions trading and urban pollution. It should be noted that this edition also begins with an explanation of the jurisprudence developed by the European Court of human rights.
(PBo)
*** AIKE MÜLLER: Die Finanzierung internationaler Umweltpolitik. Eine Erklärung des Vergabeverhaltens und der ungleichen Beteiligung von OECD-Geberländern bei der Vergabe von Umwelthilfe. Peter Lang (See address attached). 2011, 188 pp, €32.50. ISBN 978-3-631-61816-5.
Why do allocations made to international environment policy differ so much between the different countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)? This is the question that Aike Müller attempts to answer in this book. In his introduction, the author immediately emphasises the inability of states to agree on a clearly defined policy. According to the author, this policy effectively remains relegated to the second division and is regarded as particularly less important than economic considerations and, above all, far below the individual interests of each country. In the first chapter, Aike Müller provides an explanation of environmental policy funding and underlines the role of the OECD and the Global Environment Facility, as well as public development aid. In the following chapter, he looks at the main theories of international relations, which, according to him, can help to understand the different contributions made between donor countries. He then analyses the two different kinds of funding (bilateral and multilateral) for environment policy, as well as how the institutions operating in the context of this funding. The author finishes his book by attempting to provide an answer to the opening question of the book and explains the different criteria to take into account when granting development aid.
(SH)
*** HANNA MARIA ELISABETH SCHMIDT: Der Enteignungsschutz im internationalen Investitionsschutzrecht in Hinblick auf das europäische Umweltrecht. Peter Lang (see address attached). « Publications Universitaires Européennes / European University Studies / Europäische Hochschulschriften » series, No. 5344. 2012, 271 pp. €52.95. ISBN 978-3-631-63745-6.
In this book, Hanna M.E. Schmidt examines the protection mechanism in international law for protecting investment from expropriation in the perspective of European environment law. First of all, the author looks at bilateral investment protection agreements concluded in Germany. The second part of the book looks at the expansion of the European Union's scope in this field, resulting from the Lisbon Treaty. In the third part of the book, the author gets to the very heart of the subject by examining the relationship that exists between European environment law and investment protection at an international level. The author subsequently develops a specific analysis of European environment policy. The fourth part of the book explores the Vienna Convention on the law developed by the treaties and the jurisprudence for arbitration when expropriation takes place. In the final part of the book, the author looks at the requirements needed for a new European agreement on investment protection.
(SH)