*** ANNA JONSSON CORNELL, MARCO GOLDONI (Editors): National and Regional Parliaments in the EU-Legislative Procedure Post-Lisbon. The Impact of the Early Warning Mechanism. Hart Publishing (Kemp House, Chawley Park, Cumnor Hill, Oxford, OX2 9PH, UK. Tel: (44-1865) 517530 – fax: 510710 – Email: mail@hartpub.co.uk – Internet: http://www.hartpub.co.uk ). 2017, 368 pp. £70. ISBN 978-1-78225-917-6.
The entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty was, for the national parliaments, synonymous with the right of being actively involved in the affairs of the European Union because it recognised their role of, “guard dogs of subsidiarity” by way of the “early warning system” conferred upon them in a form of the yellow and orange cards. In this way the member states hoped to both calm the zealousness of the Commission’s integrationist goals, get the national parliaments more involved in European subjects and subsequently bestow more democratic legitimacy to the European legislative process and bring it “closer to European citizens”. Were the expectations placed in the early warning mechanism always met over the first five years of its implementation? This is what the political scientists and legal practitioners meeting during two workshops and a conference organised in Uppsala and Stockholm between 2014 and 2015 have attempted to verify and this book combines all the lessons and that they have drawn from this experience. At a practical level, Professor Anna Jonsson Cornell (comparative constitutional law at the University of Uppsala) and Marco Goldoni (senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow School of Law) asked them to analyse: i) how the early warning mechanism was implemented in the respective national constitutional orders and how were reasoned opinions put together; ii) its effect on the constitutional dynamics at a national level; iii) its impact on relations between the national parliament and the Commission; iv) in the studies of specific cases involving the national and regional parliaments and what stood out in their respective experiences. Their analyses and conclusions are provided in the three parts of the book.
The first part of the book focuses on the theoretical reconstruction of the way in which the early warning system should be understood and what should be the role of the national and regional parliaments in the context of subsidiarity. It is also pointed out that the Commission was in favour of an understanding of the mechanism “based on a strictly formal and legal conception of subsidiarity” and that the European Court of Justice could play a useful role by ensuring respect of the procedural requirements so that the Parliaments fully benefited from the early warning mechanism. The contribution by Bruno Dias Pinheiro should be particularly highlighted and who is the only author that is not from the academic community. Head of unit at the Portuguese Parliament, he is obviously interested in inter-Parliamentary cooperation, which he believes is imperative if the early warning mechanism is going to be able to play an effective role. The examination of subsidiarity can contribute to this and even more importantly help improve inter-Parliamentary cooperation, as explained by the two editors, “playing a positive role by interpreting subsidiarity not as a vetoing mechanism but in a supporting role (for example by way of the green card), which will transform the national parliaments into active artisans of the Union’s legislative process”.
The second part resonates perfectly with current affairs because it focuses on the position of the regional parliaments and the question of the early warning mechanism. Diane Fromage (Professor of European law at the University of Utrecht) highlights what distinguished the regional parliaments from those that had legislative powers. She advised the latter to employ cautious use of the early warning mechanism. Professor Karolina Boronska-Hryniewiecka (Institute of Political Science at the University of Wroclaw) called for the notion of the Parliamentary scope at different levels to be extended to an infra-national level and also pointed out, in light of what is occurring in… Spain, Belgium, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, that the regional apartments are still rather insensitive to this necessity, which could result in their low level of expertise in European affairs and which could subsequently lead to an insufficient political engagement in this misunderstood area. Professor Cristina Fasone (comparative public law at the Guido Carli Free International University’s political science department) is also interested in the regional parliaments that have legislative competencies. She demonstrates that although Italy is inspired by Spain’s regionalisation process, the "pupil” regions have benefited more than those from the early warning mechanism “model” for three reasons: a) the previous relationship between the Italian parliament and the regional councils has been strengthened, explain the two editors by way of, “creating a national political dialogue in an unequal but active way, in which several regions have participated”; b) the consultation of the regional councils has strengthened the cooperation between them and, “contrary to Spain, has strengthened the role of the Conference of Presidents of the Regional Parliaments”; c) this has all enhanced involvement parliamentary involvement in the Union’s affairs. These are obviously important factors of information that should not be forgotten when a judgement is being delivered on what is currently happening in Spain…
Following an insight provided on the most complicated case of relations between national, regional and community parliaments in Belgium, the third part of the book provides an analyse of the way in which the early warning mechanism is used in the major member states, the Visegrad Group of countries and countries in Scandinavia. The lessons to be drawn in this connection are no less important than those in the rest of the book. Michel Theys
*** Il Federalista. Rivista di politica. Edif (8 Villa Glori, I-27100 Pavia. Internet: http://www.ilfederalista.eu ). 2017, No 1, 120 pp. Annual subscription: €25 (Europe), €30 (abroad).
The editorial beginning this issue of a publication linked to the Movimento Federalista Europeo focuses on “Germany’s European responsibilities”. In proceeds with the observation that: Europe is changing for the better. In civil society, men and women are standing up so that the Eurosceptics and other sovereignists and nationalists no long occupy the high ground. With Macron, we have a French President who says that he wants “a new European sovereignty”, which seriously reassures Germany in this connection. With Trump, we have a man that compelled Chancellor Merkel to admit that Europeans have no choice but to, “take their destiny in their own hands and fight for their own future”. The editorialist therefore asserts that the German government, “can no longer hide behind the excuse of having to reconquer public opinion before being able to seriously engage in strengthening the European Union”. He therefore suggests that Angela Merkel unstintingly follows the tracks bequeathed by Helmut Kohl and, more precisely, to take her inspiration from the ideas upheld in the 1994 Schäuble-Lamers document, namely, to make monetary union “the hard-core of political Union”. In their eyes Monetary Union should only unite five of the “six founding countries” of Community Europe, with Italy being excluded due to its huge public debt. Because this was not heeded, economic and monetary union from the very beginning counted 12 countries within it, including Italy and Greece. Suddenly, Germany and its partners have been, as foreseen by Schäuble and Lamers, irremediably pushed into a constant process of renationalisation: “ the dismissal of prospects for political union has turned the situation in the Eurozone into a vicious circle, which will not be able to preserve the sometimes positive results that have been attained”, according to the analysis of the editorialist who therefore calls for, “the transition of the system of European rules to one of the European institutions that is capable of governing and which, as Draghi is still pointing out, is the only entity able to manage the problem of convergence” between the different economies in a rational way. The editorialist therefore argues that Germany’s challenge today is to abandon, “the intergovernmental decision-making methods and mechanisms” and move to, “a system based on federal institutions, mechanisms and Instruments”. The other themes tackled in this issue include the position of the Movimento federalista europeo on the Rome treaties and common defence in a federal union. (MT)
*** COSTAS LOULOUDAKIS: Du Troisième Reich à l'Union européenne. Editions Kapsimi (55-57 rue Zoodochou Pigis, GR-10681 Athens. Tel: (30-210) 3813838 – fax: 3839713 – Email: info@kapsimi.gr – Internet: http://www.kapsimi.gr ). 2017, 328 pp. €9. ISBN 978-618-5156-28-2.
This book is both revealing and provocative. The writer invites the reader to revisit many different developments that have occurred over recent years and clarifies essential features of capital. His tableau is the rather unfamiliar but shocking history of the creation of capitalist integration in Europe. What is the relationship between fascism, colonialism in a number of different countries with the European Union of today? What role did the US play in the development of Germany? Defeated at the end of the First and Second World Wars, how did it become the leading light of European capitalist integration? In this connection, what was the role played by Great Britain and France? It is to these questions that Costas Louloudakis, the editor on the Internet “Reflector” magazine provides a number of answers in these pages. He explains and analyses historic events through an unusual angle, which appears to suggest that the Nazis and fascists were involved in the process of European integration. He describes the rivalry, alliances and confrontations that led to deep crisis and, ultimately, the remodelling of the European Union. The author is particularly interested in the direct relations and leading role of the major multinationals and banks in the elaboration of the politico-economic strategy implemented since the European Economic Community up to the present day. (AKa)
*** ALEXIS ARVANITIS: Comment (ne pas) négocier. Ce que nous enseigne la négociation Tsipras-Varoufakis. Editions Gutemberg (37 rue Didotou GR-10680 Athens. Tel: (30-210) 3642003 – fax: 3642030 – Email: info@dardanosnet.gr). 2017, 155 pp. €9. ISBN 978-960-01-1866-7.
On 13 July 2015, after 17 hours of extremely tough negotiations, the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, leaves the European Council meeting. He is tired and haggard when he announces to his country that it does not have to leave the euro. Later, Alexis Tsipras will recognise that a lot of mistakes were committed during the negotiations, which even involved a number of “illusions” shared by the leader of the Greek nation. According to Alexis Arvanitis, a professor at the psychology department at the University of Crete, this admission can only be validated with the support of serious scientific analysis: his book seeks to demonstrate that economic science and social psychology can help provide an explanation about these mistakes and how they can help within the context of negotiations, irrespective of whether these are political or occur in people’s daily lives. He focuses on the first half of 2015 by shedding light on what is the nature and potential contained within the instruments provided by modern negotiating science and, first of all, what is concealed behind the acronym “ΒΑΤΝΑ” – the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement. He then highlights the contrasts between the tactics utilised by Tsipras and Varoufakis, who was, at the time, his Minister for the Economy. This ultimately sees him pointing out that the individuals’ certain fanatical supporters had been applauding were in fact leading the negotiations into an impasse, with the complicity of Greece. The author concludes that given the fact that “these erratic negotiations had cost citizens billions” it is important that today’s leaders and those of tomorrow draw the lessons from this experience. (AKa)
*** CONSTANTINOS LOULIS: La survie de la Grèce à travers des miracles successifs. Editions Psychoghios (121 rue Tatoiou, GR-14452 Metamorphosi. Tel: (30-210) 2804800 – fax: 2819550 – Email: info@psichogios.gr – Internet: http://www.psichogios.gr ). 2017, 448 pp. €17.70. ISBN 978-618-01-1483-6.
This book is a retrospective of the last two centuries in Greek history and offer a comprehensive account of the major events that occurred during this period, as well as their causes and protagonists. The author is a political scientist and honorary consul of the Netherlands in central Greece (Thessaly - Epirus). Constantinos Loulis has always been attracted by history and developed a love during his childhood for historic texts. It is therefore quite natural that he drafted this study and set himself the task of uncovering the truth with both sincerity and realism, qualities that are rare among those with political ambitions or dogmatic attitudes. He belongs to the category of Greeks who envisaged a prosperous country but who have also realised that they will never experience the level of prosperity sought. In this connection he provides an insight devoid of illusions regarding the evolution of his country and the shadow cast over the promises and visions of a Greece that is both independent and strong economically. He is totally independent from the different political forces and their respective ambitions and he provides a meticulous historical examination of certain “figures” in modern Greece. This leads him to conclude that some individuals have unduly been admitted into the pantheon of “immortal and infallible political beings”, whilst others have been unfairly thrown into the dustbin of history. This is an important undertaking, written in a clear and simple language and is addressed to all Greek readers who would like to know the real history of their country... (AKa)