*** ALEXADRE DEFOSSEZ: Le dumping social dans l'Union européenne. Editions Larcier (Espace Jacqmotte, 139 rue Haute, Loft 6, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-10) 482511 - fax: 482519 - Email: commande@larciergroup.com - Internet: http://www.larcier.com ). « Europe(s) » series. 2014, 658 pp. €135. ISBN 978-2-8044-7332-7.
Given that social dumping can be located at "the crossroads of the economy and law", Alexandre Defossez has decided to focus his Ph.D. thesis in law on this encounter by subsequently tracing the history of European construction in this connection. This publication provides a critical perspective of a subject that is as complex as it is explosive and, which certain commentators regard as the, "undermining, in the name of free competition, of a number of workers' rights".
The author is currently working as a Belgian civil servant and course director at the University of Liège. The starting point is that the gradual scrapping of barriers to free trade and the weakness of the Union's scope in the social field are two factors that have continually helped increase competition and the "risk of the race to the bottom in so-called social rights". In the first part of the book the author looks at how the struggle against social dumping is organised and analyses how the Union manages the relationships between social competencies, free trade and normative competition. In so doing, the author provides a thorough going insight into the founding texts of the Union. One of the things Patrick Wautelet deduces in his preface is that the different exchanges on the subject of social dumping were originally very intense but, "the overwhelming dominance of the economically liberal order lead, however, the founding fathers of Europe to conclude that social competition would gradually disappear with the convergence of the member states' economies and which would naturally lead to the development of free trade". In his subsequent analysis of primary law, the author also demonstrates that although European social policy has gradually asserted itself, this has in fact been, "at the price, indeed at the negation of, at least a certain indifference to social dumping" and it is legitimate to ask whether the objective of social progress and the development of the internal market is not destined to remain, "more of a promise than a tangible reality". It is in the second part of the book that Alexandre Defossez gets to grips with the "rupture" stemming from the directive on the posting of workers and he meticulously analyses the basis and modalities of this directive to subsequently demonstrate, as explained by Professor Wautelet, that this has brutally contradicted the intrinsic orientation of European construction and an important part of derivative law. The text of the implementing directive was finally published on 28 May 2015, for the transposition of this position on 18 June this year. It does not question the analysis developed by the author, who deems that a more ambitious text would have been significantly more appropriate in order to guarantee adequate protection of posted workers and that the limitations on direct subcontractors was the main reason for this dissatisfaction.
In the conclusions that he draws, Alexandre Defossez highlights the fact that the measures taken to fight against social dumping result from the most recent members of the Union and involve restrictions on the freedom of workers' movement, which, "provoked the perverse effects of increased fraud and concealed the different ways of individuals travelling". He says that in the current situation no instrument can provide sufficient protection in the fight against certain forms of exploitation of posted workers. In his view, it is up to the member states to ensure that their protection becomes an essential imperative and that they, for example, tackle the problem of "letterbox companies". In this regard, he points out that, "The principle of banning abuses of the law, which is particularly developed in the domain of fiscal jurisprudence at the European Court of Justice, could be appropriately transposed in the social arena, as a means to tackle certain strategies that seek to avoid social law. He also considers that the notion of and habitual workplace contains the seed of a tool that could be used to protect workers' interests because it is true that, "the identification of the usual workplace could be used to help fight against certain abusive forms of the posting of workers". The need to develop cooperation between member states, involve the trade unions and obtain a reassessment from the European Court of Justice in its jurisprudence in this field are also other possible areas the author suggests for improving the situation.
Michel Theys
*** GRIGORIS POTAMIANOS, VASSILIS GITAKOS: Les expériences de chômage: les personnes derrière les numéros. Editions 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, 120 pp. €9. ISBN 978-960-02-3102-1.
Unemployment is a phenomenon that as a significant impact on an individual's biological, psychological and social situation when they find themselves unemployed. The scale of these ramifications in these times of crisis, in addition to a complete absence of studies in this field in Greece, has encouraged a scientific research group to explore the psychosocial impact of unemployment. Grigoris Potamianos and Vassilis Gitakos work at the Economic University of Athens and in this book explore the results from this study, which focuses on the experience of a group of unemployed people aged between 25 and 55 and who have been without work for over six months. They were asked to describe the way in which they experienced their respective situations, the mechanisms they used to adapt to their new lives, the changes that unemployment brought to their self-image and what they thought of the future in general and their own, in particular. The data gathered was carried out last year. The comparative graphs involve information about age, social status, studies and the family situations of the members of the group studied.
(AKa)
*** RALF REUTER: Die Auswirkungen des unionrechtlichen Altersdiskriminierungsverbots auf das deutsche Beamtenrecht. 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 ). "Beiträge zum nationalen und internationalen öffentlichen Recht" series. 2014, 365 pp. €74.95. ISBN 978-3-631-65622-8.
The objective of Ralf Reuter's thesis, which he presents in this book, is to examine the compatibility of German law and public service with the rules of non-discrimination resulting from age covered by European law, particularly derived European law. To achieve his objective, the author provides a meticulous examination of the situation involving this compatibility and in a number of cases he demonstrates the compatibility of European norms with German constitutional law. He concludes that in the area of public service, the German legislator has wisely employed the margin of manoeuvre available to it when setting certain age limits and allocating certain advantages based on age, but without going beyond its prerogatives. The German legislator has therefore managed to avoid any standard that could be interpreted as discriminatory.
(GLe)
*** MIRIAM SPRINK: Vertragliche Gestaltung von Urlaub. Möglichkeiten und Grenzen. Peter Lang (see address attached ). "Osnabrücker Schriften zum Unternehmens- und Wirtschaftsrecht" series. 2015, 324 pp. €69.95. ISBN 978-3-631-66249-6.
Miriam Sprink's thesis explores recent developments in German law governing holidays, particularly the area of law influenced by the Schulz-Hoff ruling at the European Court of Justice in 2009, which the German federal labour law court had to incorporate into its own jurisprudence. Since Schulz-Hoff, other rulings explain the substance of European jurisprudence in the area of holidays the fact that the content of this jurisprudence has to be Incorporated not just by the federal court but also by all the different German actors involved in the elaboration of laws governing holidays (the legislator, social partners, et cetera.). This thesis also examines the implications of European intervention in the areas where there is still room for manoeuvre for the different actors when it comes to introducing legislation in this field and respect for national, European and international legal standards.
(GLe)
*** PHILIPPE ICARD (Editor): Les femmes dans le droit de l'Union européenne. Editions Bruylant / Groupe Larcier (see address attached). « Rencontres européennes » series. 2015, 212 pp. €55. ISBN 978-2-803-74775-8.
Article 2, in the Treaty of European Union announces that, "the Union is based on the values of respect for human dignity… And equality between men and women". Nonetheless, everyone knows that gender equality remains an ideal confronted by numerous different obstacles. With its laws, directives and regulations, the Union is working towards greater equality between men and women. Nonetheless, where are we exactly, today? What does the path we have trodden look like and what does the way ahead resemble? Philippe Icard is in charge of the European section of the Centre of Research, Law and Political Science and in this book brings together a number of contributions from 10 different French authors evaluating policies that seek to promote gender equality carried out by the European Union and Council of Europe at different levels. These initiatives involve policies in family life, professional careers, citizenship and the situations the prevail within the European institutions.
(HHe)
*** CHRISTIAN MAIER: Eine empirische Analyse der Anreize zur informellen Pflege. Impulse für Deutschland aus einem europäischen Vergleich. Peter Lang (see address attached). "Allokation im marktwirtschaftlichen System" series. 2015, 210 pp. €54.95. ISBN 978-3-631-65479-8.
Set up in 1995 in Germany as an autonomous basis of German social security, dependency insurance is in urgent need of reform and adaptation for demographic and financial reasons and also because of the preferences of those benefiting from it for "informal" reasons of dependency, namely health care, provided at lower than market prices and which involves the healthcare beneficiary choosing their own health care service provider. This "informal" health care has more financial advantages for Social Security and is often preferred when choosing health care providers and the subsequent human relationships that this process creates. This analysis is not restricted to the economic dimension of the issue but also incorporates a sociological and human component. It also draws a number of comparisons at an international level. Christian Maiere's study subsequently highlights the reasons for choosing informal healthcare and draws a number of conclusions regarding the implications that this could have at a level of reform that the different political stakeholders in Germany are committed to undertake.
(GLe)