*** SYLVIE GOULARD: Goodbye Europe. Flammarion (87 quai Panhard et Levassor, F-75647 Paris cedex 13. Tel: (33-1) 40513100 – Internet: http://www.editions.flammarion.com ). "Café Voltaire" series. 2016, 136 pp. €12 (France). ISBN 978-2-0813-8545-0.
Many readers of Agence Europe’s European Library will undoubtedly not have waited for this particular review before deciding to buy this book and they would be right. The European Library is therefore on this occasion guiltily flagging it up. It is written by a French MEP who continually manages to distinguish himself through her consistent independent European commitment and it should ideally have been read before the referendum in which the British people decided on the Brexit. She provides clarification in a number of areas, as well as analyses that are both pertinent and captivating and which, however, warn of an impending obsolescence, which could lead to a number of raised eyebrows amongst those who chose to listen to the enticing lies of Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and others…
Sylvie Goulard does not pull her punches in this publication in attacking the "preferential treatment" given to David Cameron in an effort to ensure that his country deigned to remain in the Union. That day last February in Brussels when a new arrangement had been agreed "on the sly" for the United Kingdom in the European Union, the heads of state and government of the latter should have listened to the author but have lost everything, beginning with their honour, their own honour and that of the Union itself, which has been relegated to the rank of an inflatable doll that can be adapted to the fantasies of its most demanding members. Let's stop there on the subject because this disastrous arrangement quickly became null and void thanks to the duplicitous skills of Johnson and Farage and the verdict given by the British people. Nonetheless, the question that still needs to be answered is that of how we got to this situation and this level of rejection in relation to the project of the founding fathers of European construction. This is exactly why this book remains extremely relevant in the here and now!
The target this MEP has in her sights is the heart of the European Council, the body of members state and governments that have taken advantage of the crisis over the past few years to, "keep in the dark, the united Community Europe of solidarity and democracy". She exclaims that the situation was in fact even worse than that due to, "their prevarications and opaque arrangements and the fact that those who should have been strengthening Europe actually became the artisans of its misfortune". Given that they are no longer content to provide the strategic impetus required by Europe to harmoniously develop and overcome the storms through which it has to pass without harm, they effectively became "an absolute and inefficient monarch", which is dragging the European people back to "the times of the Ancien Régime" when there was no question of the separation of powers or of democracy… Sylvie Goulard deals a mortal blow when she accuses these national leaders of blatant, "double dealing on the question of Europe and who have not used their power for either Europe or the national interest".
This is undoubtedly the case but what then should be done? Evidently not listening to the twaddle being spouted by the Eurosceptics is crucial, as well as the others heralding the return to the glorious national glory of the past. The ideas of a German business leader quoted by the author clearly indicates the inanity of their discourse, "Germany is to China what Bosnia Herzegovina practically is to Germany. If Europe is not united, Peking could possibly grant the same degree of consideration to Germany in the future as Berlin currently gives to the Bosnian state". No, the world changes and even the former European powers struggle to get themselves heard. Even the Catholic Church has taken sides, under Pope Francis, to reduce the power of the European cardinals when it involves nominating his successor. Therefore, Europe needs to be strengthened so that its member states continue to exist on the world scene. How can this be done? Sylvie Goulard puts forward a few suggestions to this end. They are incontestably characterised by good sense and in this respect warrant some consideration. Nonetheless, she believes that, "the somersault will not come from a European level" and that today, just as yesterday, "it will be the states that hold the key to the Europe of tomorrow". She is undoubtedly right but is she not underestimating another factor, namely, the anger of frustrated Europeans who can now be found in all the different member states? Given that popular wisdom says that good can come from bad, why dismiss the idea that "the frustrated peoples of Europe" can one day rise up against their respective national Bastilles in the name of Europe? Michel Theys
*** PANAYIOTIS IOAKEIMIDIS (Editor): L'intégration européenne. Marche arrière ou progrès. Editions Papazisi (2 rue Nikitara, GR-10678 Athens. Tel: (30-210) 3822496 – fax: 3809020 – Email: papazisi@otenet.gr – Internet: http://www.papazisi.gr ). 2016, 133 pp. €9.54. ISBN 978-960-02-3225-7.
The Union is going through a transition period and having to confront multi-dimensional challenges, which have shown that it is not prepared to manage them effectively. In this book edited by a Professor of international relations at the University of Athens, around ten or so academics specialising in European studies, get their thoughts down on this theme on paper. The centrifugal trends, temptations towards national isolationism, the lack of solidarity on key questions and the strengthening of populist forces are creating new situations that they take into account and analyse. The political and economic divergences between member states, in combination with those that are now appearing in the social arena and threatening to reconstitute images of national stereotypes, are undermining the European project in the way that it has evolved up until the last few years. Despite the institutional deepening promised, theoretically, with the signing of the Lisbon Treaty, many decisions are still being taken in small committees while the "voice" of European citizens appears almost inaudible at the European Parliament. These different elements obviously feed into the feeling of alienation that civil society feels in relation to "Brussels". It is clear that the current model of Europe is anything but appreciated by citizens, which means that the Union is being shaken up as an internal level just as much as it is by external events and pressures. (AKa)
*** OLGA GIOTI-PAPADAKI: L'intégration politique européenne et les politiques de solidarité. Editions Kritiki (4 rue Papadiamantopoulou, GR-11528 Athens. Tel: (30-210) 8211811 – fax: 8211026 – Email: biblia@kritiki.gr – Internet: http://www.kritiki.gr ). 2015, 368 pp. €21.99. ISBN 978-960-586-035-6.
The European Union is a transnational system in constant evolution. Its areas of sovereignty within it are shared by the member states and managed by supranational institutions. The relationship between the latter continues to vary through time, in light of the willingness of the the different states to promote the integration process and, above all, the way in which the governments express themselves on their behalf. Olga Gioti-Papadaki is an associate Professor at the Faculty of Economic and Regional Development at Pantheon University, Athens. In this book she points out that this process is also the result of a relationship of interdependency, which has not ceased to grow over the past half-century. Although the constitutional schema has remained intact for the most part, the member states have also, over time, transferred a significant part of their powers and prerogatives to supranational institutions and have subsequently involuntarily reduced their independence. In an effort to maximise the positive effects of European integration, it was, however, necessary to strengthen the overall coherence of the totality, particularly in regard of the successive enlargements. The author believes that without any appropriate policy, the Union will be transformed into a heterogeneous ensemble. It should also be pointed out that this book contains an extensive bibliography. (AKa)
*** ANASTASIOS-IOANNIS METAXAS (editor): La science politique, enquête interdisciplinaire et transversale sur le fonctionnement de la politique. Les conditions des termes, les normes épistémologiques et les garanties de recherche (vol. 1). Editions Sideris (116 rue Solonos, GR-10681 Athens. Tel: (30-210) 3833434 – fax: 3832294 – Email: contact@isideris.gr). 2016, 163 pp. €10. ISBN 978-960-08-0713-4.
This study was carried out by eminent academics at the European Constitutional Centre. It is divided into ten volumes, edited by Anastasios Metaxas, Emeritus Professor at the University of Athens and the Peloponnese. In the first part of the book the authors tackle the epistemological conditions deemed essential for understanding policy at scientific, multidisciplinary and synchronic levels. According to the authors, this approach is required if we seek to "explain" political life but even more importantly understand it. The issues tackled in the context of: 1) a general preliminary definition of politics; 2) the shift from the notion of "public interest" to the common interest; 3) the inclusion of the experimental subject in general history as an inevitable dialectical centre; 4) on the basis of an approach involving an attempt to provide a clinical diagnosis; 5) the denationalisation of perceptive frameworks; 6) subsequent rhetoric relating to an obligation; 7) on the basis of formal sectoral discrimination; 8) on the need to develop a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary synergy; 9) this assistance in the adjacent approach; 10) from safeguarding and ensuring free expression as proof of the credibility of research. It is evident that this book and the nine others that follow address those who already master the concepts involved in political science. Anastasios Metaxas explains that these also provide a body of proposals and each reader is invited to engage in the critical reading they deem most appropriate. (AKa)
*** CHRISTODOULOS GIALLOURIDIS, MERSILLIA ANASTASIADOU: La théorie et la pratique. Chypre à l’heure ultime. Editions Sideris (116 rue Solonos, Gr-10681 Athens. Tel: (30-210) 3833434 – fax: 3832294 – Email: contact@isideris.gr.). 2016, 376 pp. €28. ISBN 978-960-08-0705-9.
The study presented in this publication by two members from the academic community tackles the problem of Cyprus in the context of global change and the specific situation of this island located in the southern Mediterranean and on the doorstep of the Middle East. It also takes into account what has happened in Europe and the international political situation during the 20th and 21st centuries. Professor Christodoulos Giallouridis is the dean of the School of Senior International Studies at Pantheon University Athens and is also the director of the Oriental Studies Centre. Mersileia Anastasiadou is a researcher at the Department of Regional, European and International Studies at the same university. Their starting point is that theoretical approaches in international relations and applied policy within international practice can be useful tools for assessing a complex international environment that is both chaotic and conflictual. They point out that the political realist approach has prevailed both in Greece and Turkey and the two countries have never ceased to pursue the defence of their respective national interests. Moreover, this posture can only be valid if it is coupled with an overt display of comparative power… The authors present their study as a scientifically structured warning to political leaders so that they are not overtaken by possible future events. In this connection, it is important for the Cypriot leaders, intellectuals and those responsible for forming political opinion in Cyprus that third countries, friends and foes alike, only take a position on the basis of their own interests and their respective strategies. The defence of the national interest can therefore not be dictated by anyone else than the Cypriots themselves. Negotiations on the question of resolving this separate question are imperative in this context and in the conditions of equivalence, which requires alliances and the right time to take action. (AKa)