*** SYBE DE VRIES, ULF BERNITZ, STEPHEN WEATHERILL (Eds.): The Protection of Fundamental Rights in the EU After Lisbon. Hart Publishing (16C Worcester Place, Oxford, OX1 2JW, UK. Tel: (44-1865) 517530 - Fax: 510710 - email: mail@hartpub.co.uk - Internet: http://www.hartpub.co.uk ). "Studies of the Oxford Institute of European and Comparative Law," No. 15. 2013, 218 pp, £45. ISBN 978-1-84946-443-7.
At the beginning, the European Community, for all its claimed economic character, was concerned with “the safeguarding of (economic) rights of free movement and residence,” to such an extent and so successfully that these rights were recognised for the “market citizen” well before they were recognised for the citizens of a body called the European Union. This type of genetic defect has not prevented the European Court of Justice from contributing to the gradual emergence of a genuine European fundamental rights dimension, the Lisbon Treaty being a major step in this process. But to what extent? Does it provide the judges in Luxembourg with new possibilities of action in this domain because it is well-known to everyone that “some Member States,” as the book's editors cautiously put it, still fear deeper commitment by the European Union to the field of human rights because this might lead to an extension of the scope of its powers. The book is an accurate portrayal the proceedings of a conference organised just over two years ago by the Institute of European and Comparative Law at Oxford University to get a clear picture and discern what the implications of the Lisbon Treaty might be when it comes to protecting fundamental rights.
The various aspects of the changes brought about by the most recent EU treaty are explored one by one. In the first section, three authors look at the protection of fundamental rights against the backdrop of the big border-free market. Prof. Stephen Weatherill of Oxford University looks at the role that the freedom of movement and freedom of residence have played in the integration process, particularly under the Court of Justice's voluntarist approach, and analyses how the court has responded to the criticisms voiced in the member states about some of its activism. Looking specifically at the protection of social rights, Catherine Barnard of Cambridge University points out that although the Lisbon Treaty gave the European union a greater 'social face,' it also makes it more difficult to define its true social dimension because, for example, the growing mushrooming of sources of social rights at national, European and international level does not tend to facilitate their harmonious interaction. Likewise, the fact that the EU has to take account of individual interests that do not necessarily coincide, for example among workers in the old and new Member States, does not make things any easier, and Prof. Barnard says that the use of the proportionality test seems to be appropriate when it comes to balancing these divergent interests. The final difficulty, and a major one at that, identified by this professor of law of Cambridge University is whether the crisis experienced by the eurozone is preventing the EU from keeping its commitment to improve living and working conditions for its citizens. The final essay in the first section of the book looks at existing conflicts between fundamental rights and fundamental freedoms. Prof. Sybe de Vries (of Utrecht University) starts by pointing out that a priori there is no hierarchy here, but the freedoms conferred by the treaties could well be described as fundamental rights in that they make it possible to ban discriminatory practices. In the light of the Court of Justice's case law, he points out that the “good old” principle of proportionality is often made use of, although he says that it is not by nature able to smooth all ruffled feathers.
The second part of the book looks at the scope of fundamental rights in EU law, which is scientifically analysed in the light of “the 'potential "federalising effect'” of the Charter of Fundamental Rights being made legally binding. Two other authors then look at the Laval and Viking rulings, which are a thorn in the side of Social Europe. Finally, the last part of the book is devoted to the constitutional dimension of fundamental rights, notably in the light of the relationship between the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, and the potential consequences (which are not necessarily solely positive) of the EU joining the Strasbourg Convention. Needless to say, this final section is just as interesting and the previous ones.
Michel Theys
*** GUNNAR BECK: The Legal Reasoning of the Court of Justice of the EU. Hart Publishing (see above). "Modern Studies in European Law," No. 36. 2012, 473 pp, £65. ISBN 978-1-84946-323-2.
This research of an academic nature was brought on board by the author, who is now a lawyer and lecturer at London University, in order to see whether the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg was both an engine of European integration and a maker of law. Gunnar Beck starts by developing a new heuristic theory of legal reasoning that argues that legal uncertainty is an omnipresent and unavoidable characteristic of the material available at the start and also of legal reasoning itself. The entire second section of the book is devoted to an analysis of European Court of Justice case law in the light of this theory. He demonstrates that the interpretation of law by the court leads above all to judges justifying their decisions on the basis of the accumulated weight of teleological, systemic and literal arguments which, as he points out, is more in accord with the orthodox legal reasoning in force in other legal systems than is usually admitted, and is less in line with the approach generally adopted by constitutional courts. After showing to what extent, however, the Court of Justice preserves an important discriminatory power that allows it to even include political elements, such as the sensibility of the Member States, Gunnar Beck arrives at the conclusion that the European Court of Justice uses this flexible approach to interpretation in order to advance the Community cause, but under constraints that he examines one by one. This book will be a real delight to specialists in the theory of European law.
(PBo)
*** FABIO ZUCCA: The International Relations of Local Authorities. From Institutional Twinning to the Committee of the Regions: Fifty Years of European Integration History. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes / Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - email: pie@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). "Euroclio" series, No. 72. 2012, 219 pp, €37.50. ISBN 978-2-87574-002-1.
This book by a historian (as the plethora of footnotes demonstrates) urges readers to consider a new way of advancing down the European integration road, a subject on which the author lecturers at Insubrie University. Fabio Zucca is also director of both the Historical Archive and the Interdepartmental Centre of Research and Documentation on Twentieth-Century at the University of Pavia. He examines with rigour and passion the role played by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions in this connection. In the light of twinning initiatives by the Italian cities of Florence, Turin and Milan, he shows how the twinning of cities in Europe was a political approach that can combine with a genuine Europe of the citizens, its claimed objective being to demonstrate that in these times of crisis that are shaking the European Union's foundations, local authorities are much better placed than governments for preserving the most important things. It goes without saying that Mercedes Bresso, president of the Committee of the Regions (on which subject the author expands at length), backs this viewpoint. She notes in passing that the initiatives taken by governments in the Mediterranean area have ended in failure, but making use of cities in the Mediterranean region could be a useful way of improving matters…
(PBo)
*** MANUEL SZAPIRO: The European Commission. A Practical Guide. John Harper Publishing (27 Palace Gates Road, London N22 7BW, UK. Tel: (44-20) 88814774 - email: jhpublsih@aol.com - Internet: http://www.howtheEUworks.com ). 2013, 378 pp, €30. ISBN 978-0-9571501-3-3.
This guide to the European Commission really is a practical guide, designed by a European official who used to be a lecturer at Sciences Po in Paris and also the College of Europe, who explains in a lively and reliable manner what exactly the European Commission is, what it does and how it does it. Helped by Michael Kaeding of the European Institute of Public Administration, Manuel Szapiro discusses the exact nature of the Commission, looking at how the College of Commissioners and president work, along with the Directorate Generals, the recruitment process, the various types of career available, the Commission's responsibilities (monopoly over legislative initiative, guardian of the treaties, competition, budget and the like). There are appendices on the crisis of the Santer Commission, technical terms and the acronyms that flourish at the Commission, and the official languages. One area of value-added in this book is that each area is addressed in terms of learning objectives and 'key points to remember,' with special sections looking at some subjects in greater depth. There are also practical tips dotted throughout the book.
(MT)
*** ALAN S. MILWARD: La reconstruction de l'Europe occidentale (1945-1951). Analyse du système de pouvoir occidental. Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles (26 av. Paul Héger, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 6503799 - Fax: 6503794 - email: editions@ulb.ac.be - Internet: http://www.editions-universit é-bruxelles.be). "UBlire" series. 2013, 745 pp, €14. ISBN 978-2-8004-1537-6.
This is the French translation of a book published by a great British historian in 1984, in which he explores the foundations of the post-war economic boom in Europe, along with the foundations of the European Community. In the introduction, Prof. Telò says that the author, who died in 2010, helped to “get studies of European history out of the ghetto of Europhile activists,” paving the way for an interpretation wanting the main objective of countries to be not building a supranational Europe as such, but rather to re-build their own national power by making use of a newly thought-out inter-state system. Solely utilitarian motivations, therefore, explain in the author's view why countries decided to delegate some of their national sovereignty to common institutions. This is not something that would generate enthusiasm amongst federalists, but the political scientist of the Université Libre de Bruxelles paradoxically discerns in these pages that although the eurozone crisis is a force for fragmentation and re-nationalisation, “strong arguments exist for fighting anti-Europeanism, in the name of the national interests of nation states, notably the United Kingdom”.
(MT)
*** DAVID HEILBRON PRICE: Jalonneur. Robert Schuman, jalonneur de la Paix Mondiale. Bron Communications (Brussels. Tel./Fax: (32-2) 2307621 - email: bron@compuserve.com - Internet: http://www.lulu.com ). 2013, 138 pp. ISBN 978-0952727-644.
This tome is a lively tribute to Robert Schuman and his life work of the European Community which, as the author, a very British and yet European-to-the-core David Heilbron Price, says, changed the face of the world by showing that there was an alternative to war. In these pages devoted to a politician in which not even Monnet emerges totally unscathed, the author expresses his strong view that supranationality is the future of humanity, and the current leaders of the European Union, trapped in the monetary, financial and energy crises, would do well to remember this before it's too late. In the rest of the book, the author publishes and annotates a narrative in which lawyer Paul Reuter, a shadowy figure behind Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman, explains the genesis of the Schuman Plan.
(MT)
*** ROBERT TOULEMON: Carnet d'Europe. Souvenirs européens 1950-2005. Presse Fédéraliste (Maison de l'Europe et des Européens, 13 rue de l'Arbre-sec, F-69001 Lyon. Internet: http://www.pressefederaliste.eu ). Carnet d'Europe series. 2012, 431 pp, €20. ISBN 978-2-119-282-0.
A high-ranking official at the European Commission who retired a long time ago, Robert Toulemon - who worked for Commissioners Robert Marjolin and Altiero Spinelli, ending his career as Director General for Industrial, Technological and Scientific Affairs, recounts in this book his memories of his time as a European activist and artisan at key points in the history of the life of a Frenchman open to ideas stretching beyond the borders of France itself. His eye-witness report explains a number of aspects, both major and minor, of the European construction project, and above all bear witness to an attachment to the European ideal that has largely died out. Robert Toulemon interrupts his tale to comment: “Two immense problems remain. How to fill the gulf that separates Europe from the people? How to preserve the legal and institutional framework as a whole by going along with those who want to move forwards and also with those who reject any progress?” No doubt he would agree a few months after completing the book that it is only the first question that is important and keeps people awake at night these days…
(MT)
*** SOPHIE BOYRON: The Constitution of France. A Contextual Analysis. Hart Publishing (see above). Constitutional Systems of the World series. 2013, 269 pp, £16-95. ISBN 978-1-84113-735-3.
Senior lecturer in law at the University of Birmingham, Sophie Boyron puts the constitution of France into context in the country's history. She explains that the constitution gives France a stability it rarely experienced beforehand, and is part of an evolutionary process that is still under way, preparing for a sixth republic. The author explores this dynamic, noting that the French constitution reflects in a way a movement of ambient ideas that well beyond France itself emancipated itself from the content of the fifth republic a long time ago, particularly following the rise of the European project.
(PBo)