*** The Federalist. A Political Review. Edif (8 Villa Glori, I-27100 Pavia. Internet: http://www.thefederalist.eu ). 2014, 184 pp. Annual subscription: €35 (Europe), €50 (elsewhere).
Federalists have long been absent from the ranks of the select who decide the future of Europe, or at least, if any are there, then, like Belgium's Guy Verhofstadt when he was prime minister, they don't dare assert themselves openly. It is as though federalism were banned at the European Council and hence within member states' governments because seen as a potentially deadly virus. And it is true that that F-word that shall not be named for the British is potentially also just such an F-word for countries that see themselves as eternal absolutes, and intend to remain so, come what may!
This issue of a publication close to the Movimento Federalista Europeo opens with an editorial by the publication itself that defines 'the true challenge' to be dealt with by the eurozone, namely moving from 'simple coordination between States to Political Union.' Until now, explains the anonymous and no doubt collective columnist, countries have clearly preferred the coordination of different national interests, which has had unfortunate consequences. Who can deny the invidiously created division between 'virtuous and non-virtuous states'? Germany, a symbol of the first category, thus appears to have to pay for everyone even though it's only German taxpayers that fill the coffers of that country, while struggling countries are forced to accept humiliating terms of austerity that make things worse. Hence why be surprised when there is a serious deterioration in mutual trust to the point of invectives flourishing again virtually everywhere in the streets and media of Europe? And how is it really possible to be surprised if the surveillance powers for economic and budget policies granted by heads of state to the Commission and European Central Bank are seen as intolerable muzzles on democracy in the member states, reducing it to submission, if not silence, and this plays in the hands of eurosceptics of all descriptions while feeding into nationalism and populism?
These are crucially important questions from the political points of view. Important for Europe, as some people want to adulterate it or even deconstruct it. Important for its Member States, because it is the fate and destiny of the democracies within Europe that is being played out. Finally and above all, important for European citizens. For the author or authors of the editorial, the only way to come out of this existential crisis in good shape is for eurozone Member States to finally accept to take the revolutionary step of turning their increasingly a-democratic inter-state coordination into a Political Union, viz. a body combining budget union and own resources (and it should be possible to make the financial transactions tax the beginning of this), all under the leadership of a genuine economic government. This again is something that will be considered wholly unacceptable at the European Council, since such a qualitative leap would really imply prior seeming renunciation of portions of sovereignty. But surely that would be better than the current situation that is leading inexorably to national sovereignty becoming an 'empty concept,' as the power to make budget and economic policy choices is being surreptitiously attributed to 'authorities that are not democratically legitimate'? Food for thought, and the other contributions in this issue deserve attention also.
Michel Theys
*** Fedechoses… pour le fédéralisme. Presse fédéraliste (Maison de l'Europe et des Europeans, 242 rue Duguesclin, F-69003 Lyon. Internet: http://www.pressefederaliste.eu ). March 2015, No. 167, 40 pp, €8. Annual subscription: €30.
This issue of this corrosive and pugnacious French federalist review looks at the running of the campaign for a European New Deal in the context of a Juncker Plan that is considered insufficient. The author of the editorial says that a European plan that has different ambitions in terms of job creation and sustainable development 'is indispensable ahead of any attempt at constituent action by the European Parliament in order to establish the conditions for a consensus among citizens for a European Federation.' Economist Michel Herland looks at the public debt question in Greece and elsewhere, because he points out that the Greek case is far from the only one. He explains that the 'time and again, the French State proves unable to finance a fifth of its expenditure, or sometimes more, in any other way than through borrowing.' He says that Greece is therefore not the only country whose politicians have adopted the bad habit of confusing income with borrowing, and this leads him to think that without a qualitative leap towards a European Federation, the solution for the weaker countries may be to leave the euro, which would amount to nothing less than the 'equivalent of a devaluation.' But the editorialist sees above all proof of the inability of the national framework 'to solve questions that citizens are rightly concerned about,' which leads him to state that 'upon the compost of the crisis of the national State,' populist and extremist parties can only grow stronger until 'the federal bastion of European democracy' has been constructed. Jean-Pierre Gouzy has written an interesting 'Billet' on Jean-Claude Juncker's 'testing' of the idea of creating a European army - the silence in the media and chancelleries about this seems to Gouzy, however, as too 'deafening' to generate much in the way of hope. (MT)
*** ANTONIS METAXAS, INGOLF PERNICE: L'Europe en crise / Europa in der Krise. Entre le Droit et la Politique/ Zwischen Recht und Politik. Editions Sideris (116 rue Solonos, Gr-1068 Athens. Tel: (30-210) 3833434 - Fax: 3832294 - Email: contact@isideris.gr). 2015, 120 pp, €12. ISBN 978-960-08-0685-4.
Written in Greek and German by two renowned political analysts (Prof. Mexaxa lectures in European law at Athens University; Ingolf Pernice is the founder of the Walter Hallstein Institute of European Constitutional Law at Berlin University and played a key role in the debate about the European Constitution),the documents brought together in this book cover a raft of issues: Europe, the crisis, 'emergency,' the responsibility to interpret situations, challenges to European law, the constitutionalising of the European Union, European constitutional identity, the objective truly assigned to the Union, the reason why European leaders never manage to find satisfactory answers to problems, the importance of the European construction for citizens, etc. At the end of the book, proposals are put forward concerning, for example, the general principles of reform of the European Union along with the different stages of reform, the creation of an autonomous Budget Union fed by European taxes and how to temporarily block the crisis by boosting executive power. The book is also enriched by an immense bibliography in Greek and German. (AKa)
*** YVES BERTONCINI, ANTONIO VITORINO: Reforming Europe's governance. For a more legitimate and effective federation of nation states. Notre Europe - Institut Jacques Delors (19 rue de Milan, F-75009 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 44589797 - Email: info@notre-europe.eu - Internet: http://www.notre-europe.eu ). 'Studies & Reports' series, No. 105. 2014, 80 pp.
Also published in French, this study shows and demonstrates that political responses can be found to the problems raised by Europe's current governance that do not necessarily require a change to the treaties in the short-term. As Belgian diplomat Philippe de Schoutheete explains in the preface, starting to negotiate substantial changes to the treaties today 'would plunge us headlong into a chancy and dangerous process,' because such an approach would no doubt be felt, in this time of crisis that is encouraging Euroscepticism, as a 'provocation' by many citizens and it would involve negotiations with a country, the United Kingdom, that is 'deliberately allowing an existential question mark to dangle over its ongoing participation in the common enterprise.' As committed Europeans who see themselves as realistic, former European Commissioner Antonio Vitorino, currently president of Notre Europe, the think-tank set up by Jacques Delors in 1996, and manager of Notre Europe, Yves Bertoncini, make recommendations in a highly pedagogical manner on how to achieve not a 'big federal leap,' but a more legitimate and efficient Union and eurozone. In order to consolidate the political union that emerged from the Lisbon Treaty, they firstly suggest better legitimisation of the exercise of the European Union's powers. How? Firstly, by 'dispelling the “myth that 80%” of laws are of Community origin' - because they explain that the figure is closer to 20%. Other things that should be done include not taking account solely of the 'cost of non-Europe,' but also the cost of 'cost of too much Europe,' and the rejection and lack of understanding that some rules - those on 'the size of chicken coops' for example - can generate for public opinion. The two men would also like a more transparent European Parliament alongside a Council of Ministers which, in order to become more visible, should abide by a transparency that complies with that of the Parliament in legislative affairs, and its decisions should be 'formalised by (…) voting records indicating the various member states' positions, even when they do not lead to an agreement.' They say the idea of a rotating presidency should be scrapped and qualified majority voting extended. They would like to see 'a more vertical and collegial Commission,' granting the president the power to appoint Commissioners. In the second part of the book, the two authors aim to contribute to the completion of economic and monetary union, suggesting a 'review of the euro area's political and institutional architecture.' It is here that they put forward the most ambitious ideas, although taking some of them into account would certainly be a highly realistic approach. (MT)
*** THANASSIS DIAMANTOPOULOS: Le système parlementaire de la coalition. L'appui institutionnel, les caractéristiques opérationnelles et les types de fonctionnement. Éditions Patakis (38 Panayi Tsaldari, GR-10437 Athens. Tel: (30-210) 3650000 - Fax: 3811940 - Email: bookstore@patakis.gr - Internet: http://www.patakis.gr ). 'Sciences sociales et politiques' series. 2015, 346 pp, €17.90. ISBN 978-960-16-6004-2.
Professor of international relations and European studies at Pantheon University in Athens, Thanassis Diamantopoulos deals in this book with the functioning of parliamentary democracy in systems favouring coalition governments, which have become the norm in Greece and other countries that once had 'majority parliamentarianism.' By means of a historical and systematic comparative assessment, the author makes an in-depth analysis of the foundations, specificities, types and pros and cons of this particular version of democracy, before considering the institutional measures best adapted to it. Taking account of the reality of politics in Greece from 2011 until Syriza's victory at the polls in January 2015, this work provides the intellectual tools for examining in a rational manner likely political developments and the future of democratic institutions in Greece. The author deals with subjects such as parliamentary consensus, the various forms of government that are unstable and of short duration, differences compared with majority parliamentarianism, and plenty of other themes besides. The book is accompanied by a rich bibliography and an index of the names of key figureheads who have played a role in coalition governments, along with an index of the countries that have had the opportunity to try out coalition government. (AKa)
*** OLIVIER DARD (Ed.): Références et thèmes des droites radicales au XXe siècle (Europe / Amériques). Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, P. O. Box 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - Fax: 3761727 - Email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). 'Convergences' series, No. 83. 2015, 368 pp, €88.30. ISBN 978-3-0343-1580-7.
This book reports on the work of historians involved in a research programme on the internationalising of the radical right wing. After shedding light in two other books edited by Prof. Olivier Dard (Paris-Sorbonne University) on figures recognised for their careers as doctrinaires, popularisers and passers, along with their aids and vectors, namely reviews, publishers and bookshops active in this niche, the sixteen experts from a number of disciplines who are brought together in these pages (after coming together physically at a workshop at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme de Lorraine in Metz in October 2013) here highlight transversal references and themes within the European and American radical right since the end of the Second World War. The first part of the book focuses on the importance for the radical right wing of figureheads, along with the focus on death. They deal with Belgians (Paul Hoornaert, Joris Van Severen and Léon Degrelle), a Spaniard (José Antonio Primo de Rivera) and the 'mythical pantheon' of the Italian far right from 1950 to 1970. The second part of the book sheds light on the issue of memorials and histories of fallen regimes and lost battles, be it what the 'Western front' represents for the French far right or the ' mythologies' constructed around the Portuguese colonial empire. Anti-capitalism is analysed in the third part of the book in the light of Peronism, with Valérie Igounet discerning in negationism 'the expression of a new contemporary, international and multifarious anti-Semitism' in the period from 1948 to 2013. There is also a special section on anti-communism because of its importance and its 'unifying nature,' as Prof. Dard puts it, even beyond the radical right during the Cold War. The final section is devoted to the polysemic theme of 'defence of the West,' which Riccardo Marchi of the Social Sciences Institute of Lisbon University says was 'the last trench for the European far right in Cold War years.' (PBo)