*** TANGUY DE WILDE D'ESTMAEL: La dimension politique des relations economiques exterieures de la Communate europeenne. Sanctions et incitants economiques comme moyens de politique etrangere. Etablissement Bruylant (67 rue de la Regence, B-1000 Bruxelles. Tel: (32-2)5129845). Collection "Organisation internationale et relations internationales", Nº44. 1998, p. 445, 2,900 Bf. ISBN 2-8027-2295-4
This well written doctoral thesis is very topical: while the Member States will, in the coming weeks, begin a new revision procedure of the EU Treaties, being in possession of a publication that scientifically enlightening on the political dimension. In the course of time, this dimension was outlined and asserted through which the external actions of the EU show themselves as being very useful to gauge the character, in any case to understand the compromises to which it will, as always, give rise. Teaching today at the School of Social, Political and Economic Sciences of the Catholic University of Louvain, Tanguy de Wilde d'Estmael focused his research into discovering the extent to which it is possible to use economic tools for political reasons. A question that, obviously, not only concerns the EU, but also (as an ex-Belgian Permanent Representative Philippe de Schoutheete explains in the preface) shows in this case a particular importance, as much "for a body (…) that has deliberately developed over years as a civil power, divested of his own armed forces, the temptation to use its trade and its economic might as a political tool" has been "all the stronger".
Tangy de Wilde d'Estmael tells how the Member States had, little by little, and very quickly succumbed to the temptation of instrumentalising their joint trade policy and their financial aid to develop their political intentions. He starts by describing the different actions that, according to Philippe de Schoutheete could be carried out at that level, as long as they came "from a coercive diplomacy which tries to constrain, from an inciting diplomacy, which tries to encourage, or from a preventative diplomacy that tries to avoid crisis". The author then describes the historical development of the Member States efforts which tend, as of the Davignon report of 1970, to maximise there external influence, that clarifies national dogmas which had to be carried out. Finally he undertook a case study covering the a sanctions which hit the ex-USSR during the 1981 Polish crisis to those that where imposed on Yugoslavia ten years later, passing by the Falkland crisis, the pressure brought to bear on South Africa during Apartheid, Angola, Haiti, Khadafi's Libya, Sadam Hussein's Iraq… He finishes his study by looking at the, more recent and all the more relevant, efforts aiming to introduce elements of political conditionality, tied to human rights and democracy, into EU economic and political aid agreements.
Remarkably documented (and Agence EUROPE sees itself acknowledged, at this level, a place of choice…), this study is of huge importance on its own. Though it is further enriched by some reflections, as cutting as they are pertinent, than those the ex-Belgian Permanent Representative distils in his preface. So Philippe de Schoutheete notes that the jump in quality seen in the Maastricht Treaty with the launching of the CFSP was a delusion in what it stated "the absence of a common vision on the
future of the EU" that is characterised, among others, by the Member States diplomatic machinery's
refusal of 'the level of integration that would be necessary for the implementation of a common external policy.
To surmount these barriers "there is the need for at least a beginning of an agreement on the nature, role and objectives of the European Union in the 21st Century". This was not the case in Amsterdam. What of tomorrow? Michel Theys
*** ADRIAAN SCHOUT: Internal management of external relations. The Europeanization of an Economic Affairs Ministry. European Institute of Pubic Administration (O.L Vrouwplein 22, PO Box 1229, NL-6201 BE Maastricht - Tel: (31-43) 3296274 - Fax: 3296296 - E-mail: m.simons@eipa-nl.com - Internet: http: //http://www.eipa.nl ). 1999, p. 360, 65 NGL. ISBN 90-6779-126-1.
The fruit of a doctoral thesis undertaken at the European Public Administration Institute in Maastricht and defended at the University of Leiden, this publication covers with precision the case of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs with the aim of better analysing the growing phenomenon of the Europeanization of the Member States national administrations. It brings to date all the institutional and procedural changes which the political leadership and Dutch civil servants had to face following, the implementation of the 1992 Single European market. The author applies the most recent theoretical postulates from the study of organisations and public management, to his research before progressively extracting original and practical reading to measure the impact of the European dimension on the internal structures of the Member States. Adriaan Schout also compares the structure and the makeup of certain European Commission Directorate Generals with the corresponding government departments. He then examines the role played in the development of Community policy, by national experts in Brussels and views the administrative co-ordination mechanisms used for defending countries national interests at the highest level of decision making in the EU. A stimulating book that, beyond the type, opens up interesting research perspectives for the practitioners as for the specialists in social sciences and organisations. (ED)
*** ALICA MARTIN DIAZ: The Middle East Peace Process and the European Union. European Parliament Directorate General for Research, Directorate C, B-1047 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2842473 - Fax: 2849063). "Political Series" collection, 115 En. 1999, p.228.
The name of the author of this work on the Middle East Peace Process is not on the cover of this publication: this is the main criticism that can (or that must!) be addressed by the European Parliament's Directorate General for Research, which is therefore accredited with the bad impression that, in certain "Community" minds, the administrative structure is more important than those who, for one reason or another, feed it. Still the author honours the collection of large and constant interest by noting the EU's contribution to the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. After a brief resume of the regional problems in a historical perspective, Alicia Martin Diaz recalls the way in which EU countries built-up, economically and politically, a common position towards the Middle Eastern countries and more generally the Mediterranean. She then re-examines the details of the EU's support to the development of Palestinian power as well as the impact of the role played by its Special envoy in the region, Miguel Moratinos. It then presents a synthesis of the initiatives taken by the institutions and other bodies to contribute to a peaceful and negotiated resolution of the conflict. A complete memento. (MT)
*** SIMONETTA DELLS SETA, JANIKI CINGOLI: The price of non-peace: the need for a strengthened role for the European Union in the Middle East. European Parliament (Directorate General for Research, Directorate B: see details above). "Political Series" collection, 116 En. 1999, p.274.
This other working-document financed and published by the European Parliament is the work of two researchers from the Italian Centre for Peace in the Middle East in Milan, a body that since 1989 works to favour the dialogue between the Israeli, Palestinian and greater Arab civil societies. The publication is the fruit of long research that was carried out in Israel and the Palestinian territories. It was aimed a discussing the various stages of the peace process started during the Oslo Agreement of October 1993. To this end, the authors carried out interviews with seventeen observers, six Israeli, six Palestinian and five representatives from international organisations involved in the region. These interviews - that related to the politics, economy, the society, the infrastructures and resources as well as security - are faithfully reported in this report. It put forward a more precise idea of the cost of there being no peace, costs that differ according to those interviewed. The authors also show the need for the European Union's to assert itself politically in the region. (MT)
*** Demain, quel partenariat entre l'Union européenne et l'Amérique latine: le cas de l'environnement. Centre d'Etude et de Promotion des relations entre les Pays de la C. E. et de l'Amérique Latine (ULB/Cercal Secrétariat, Bât. NB-CP 181 av. Paul Héger, B-1050 Bruxelles. Tél.: (32-2) 6503103 - fax: 6504198). Série "Cahiers Cercal" n° 26. 1999, 75 p..
This issue of the "Cahiers du Cercal" contains texts presented in the context of a seminar by, among others, several Latin-American diplomats, senior European officials and academics. Their aim is to inform academic circles of the different aspects of the problem of development in Latin America, to promote reflection on the interdependence of Europe and Latin America, and to promote more active participation by academics in European cooperation programmes with Latin America. (MT)
*** YANNIS VALINAKIS: La région de la mer Noire: défis et opportunités pour l'Europe. Institut d'Etudes de Sécurité de l'Union de l'Europe occidentale (43 avenue du Président Wilson, F-75775 Paris cedex 16 - Tél.: (33-1) 53672200 - fax: 47208178 - Internet: http: //http://www.weu.int - E-mail: weu_iss@compuserve.com). Collection "Les Cahiers de Chaillot", n° 36. 1999, 65 p..
Published under the responsibility of the WEU Council, the primary aim of the "Cahiers de Chaillot" is to participate in the promotion of a European security identity through examination of topical political issues relating to the security of the European continent. It is in this spirit that Prof. Yannis Valinakis - former Director of the Greek European and Foreign Policy Foundation - analyses, in this latest edition, the motivations and collective actions undertaken since 1992 in the context of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation organisation (BSEC), of which he also describes the institutional structure. After having recalled the geostrategic importance of this region, mainly in energy matters, not only for the EU but also for the United States, the author gives a detailed description of the sub-regional organisation process initiated by BSEC, which currently groups eleven countries that border on or that are close to the Black Sea: Bulgaria, Gbeorgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Greece and Moldova. He places emphasis on their obvious determination, over and beyond their heterogeneity, to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the new international political and economic environment enhanced by the collapse of the USSR, and to use their efforts of stability and democratic transition in the pursuit of common projects in order to take a lasting place in the international community. Valinakis goes on to conclude with an appeal for more active and more productive involvement on the part of the EU, which is taken as a model, in the whole of the region likely to play the role of "Eurasian bridge" in the establishment of a new pan-European architecture. An illuminating and instructive attempt that the recent accession by Turkey to the status of EU applicant country makes even more topical. (ED)
*** ISSA BEN YACINE DIALLO: Introduction à l'étude et à la pratique de la négociation. Editions Pedone(13 rue Soufflot, F-75005 Paris. Tél.: (33-1) 43540597 - fax: 46340760). 1998, 242 p.. ISBN 2-233-00333-0.
Cabinet leader then special adviser to Perez de Cuellar for ten years, the authors knows what he is talking about. Diplomatic negotiation is his favourite field, one that he is an expert in. If we are to hark to what he says, there is no science involved. It is all a matter of experience, and, from this, of skill. The former UN secretary general opens his preface with a reminder that "conflict is inherent in human nature" and that the art of negotiation is the best antidote to the way conflicts are resolved, war. Who could challenge this? But what neither Diallo nor Perez de Cuellar admit is that diplomatic negotiation does have its limits. Those imposed by a system where each party, the States, maintain a right of veto. With its system of qualified majority (and right of veto which becomes a little more tattered with each passing day), does not the European Union, as a worthy heir of the Community, prefigure the system to be established in a "globalised" world? A question that the author, as a good diplomat, does not go into … (MT)
*** JAMES D. WOLFENSOHN: Des coalitions au service du changement. Groupe de la Banque mondiale (1818 H Street, NW, Washington D.C. 20433. Internet: http: //http://www.worldbank.org/ ). 1999, 21 p..
This short publication gives the speech by the president of the World Bank Group before the Board of Governors, on 28 September 1999, in Washington. It is a very human text, astoundingly frank, on the state of the world and globalisation which is also that, widely unspoken, of poverty. A responsible and rallying text that does honour to the World Bank. (MT)
*** The COMMISSION EUROPEENNE - DG XVI (Regional policy and cohesion) has published the following reports, distributed by the sales network of the EC Official Publications Office (L-2985 Luxembourg):
- Cohesion Fund and the Environment - Spain. 1999, 72 p., 16 euros.
- Cohesion Fund and the Environment - Portugal. 1999, 52 p., 8,50 euros.
- Cohesion Fund and the Environment - Greece. 1999, 45 p., 8,50 euros.
- Cohesion Fund and the Environment - Ireland. 1999, 51 p., 8,50 euros.
The above reports, presented in a similar way, give, in their first chapter, the EU enviornmental policy as a whole before going on to tackle the policies and strategies in this matter for each of the four Member States and to analyse certain priority intervention areas financed by the Cohesion Fund in the field of environment and transport. All four reports stress the progress accomplished in particularly fragile areas. Thus, the Cohesion Fund has made it possible, in Spain, to contribute to the implementation of European waste policy; to correct basic environmental infrastructure shortcomings such as equipment and water distribution, the collection and treatment of waste water and waste management in Portugal; and to accelerate improvements to the infrastructure for urban waste water treatment in Ireland, and improve the management of water resources and the treatment of waste waters in Greece.
*** La COMMISSION EUROPEENNE - DG XVII (Energy) has published the following reports, in the "Energy in Europe" series:
- European Union Energy Outlook to 2020. Special issue November 1999, 217 p.. ISBN 92-828-7533-4. This volume presents an overview of the energy situation in the EU for the period up to 2020. On the basis of the current situation, the rapporteurs elaborate hypotheses for the next twenty years, in order to plan, today, Europe's energy policy of tomorrow.
- Economic Foundations for Energy Policy. Special issue December 1999, 160 p.. ISBN 92-828-7529-6. In the same way as the above report, this study stresses the challenges facing those reponsible for European energy policy and each of the fifiteen Member States in the next ten to twenty years.
*** The European chemical industry in a worldwide perspective. Facts & Figures. CEFIC (av. E. Van Nieuwenhuyse 4, bte 1, B-1160 Bruxelles. Tél.: (32-2) 6767211 - fax: 6767300, E-mail: mail@cefic.be - Internet: http: //http://www.cefic.org ). Novembre 1999, 118 p..
The European chemicals industry plays an essential role in the creation of wealth, employment and the quality of life. The above report, drafted by the CEFIC (European Chemical Industry Council), gives an overview of the structures and the economic life of the chemical groups in Europe. A large number of graphs and statistical tables give a very precise idea of how important this sector is.
Reviews on the environment. In brief.
*** L'environnement pour les Européens. Commission européenne - DG XI (Brussels). In the summary of No 0 (octobre 99, 16 p.): an introduction on EU environmental policy seen by its new Commissioner Margot Wallström, the eco-label, citizens' concerns about GMOs, global warming, the Life programme, encouraging sustainable development, the projects that promote biodiversity. *** Scope Newsletter. CEEP (European Food Phosphates Producers Association, Brussels). In the summary of No 34 (October 99, 36 pages): the application of Directive 91/271 relating to the treatment of urban waste water and its role in the reduction of pollution by phosphates. *** Fedarene. European Federation of Regional Energy and Environment Agencies (Bruxelles). In the summary of No 13 (October 99, 4 p.): an interview with Mrs Stasu Hassi, Finnish Environment Minister, on how the Finnish Presidency planned to create a better environment for future generations, sustainable development and renewable energy sources. *** Glassgazette. European federation for packaging glass (Brussels). In the summary of No 25 (October 99, 8 p.): the recycling of glass in Europe, not only good for the economy but also for the envirionment. *** Concawe Review. Concawe (Brussels). In the summary of No 2 (October 99, 24 pages): the effects on health of pollution by micro-particles (MP), the quality of air, the need to combine technological progerss and the improvement of air quality.