*** GERARD GRUNBERG, PASCAL PERRINEAU, COLETTE YSMAL (Edited by): Le vote des Quinze. Les élections européennes du 13 juin 1999. Presses de Sciences Po (44 rue du Four, F-75006 Paris. E-mail: presses.sciences-po.fr - Internet: http: //http://www.sciences-po.fr ). "Chroniques électorales" collection. 2000, 400 pages., FF 278, EUR 42.38. ISBN 2-7246-0815-1.
The editors for this seventh volume of the "Electoral chronicles" collection , to which collaborated twenty researchers, have tried to look at the latest European elections "for what they reveal over the European building process", they indicate in the introduction, in which they underline in particular that, as shown in the chapter on the theme "political representation and European integration" edited by Hermann Schmitt and Jacques Thomassen, "political representation works best when you want to believe at a European level". The same authors make a series of interesting observations by noting that in particular that the Left "has become increasingly European while the Right has move from pro European to Eurosceptic sometimes of the worst kind and, especially, that the European dimension has "acquired a growing autonomy compared to the Left-Right dimension". By noting that that "European dimension has "worked" the electoral body" and caused at the European level "representation from the bottom" where voters have initiated a movement of the elite's more so that they have influenced them", the authors speak of an "automation of the European stake" which means that the European elections cannot be seen as a "second order election". As for "the failing Europeanisation" of the election campaigns in the various Member States, is was due according to Jacques Gerstle, Holli Semetko, Klaus Schoenbach and Marina Villa, in their comparative studies of the campaign in France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, especially due to fact that the last elections where "muddled" by a "major events at the international level" (the war in Kosovo), and sometimes by an "excessive national agenda" (in the case of Germany for example).
Over the results of the European elections last June, David Hanley and Colette Ysmal in one chapter and Gerard Grunberg and Gerassimos Moschonas in another assert that it is necessary to interpret in a more subtle manner what is to be considered as a victory for the EPP and a "shattering defeat" for the ESP, feeling that it is more a case of a "false success" for the EPP and a "honourable defeat for the Socialists", the relationship of forces having been inverted especially in two large countries - Germany and Great Britain - while elsewhere, the changes have been less clear. This ambitious and precise work, which describes the "electoral geography of Europe" after last June's elections, also notes that, politically the most significant changes have finally affected the "more marginal parties" and underlines that the "main victim" on this election was the extreme right which, even if it has MEPs (but not enough or coherent enough to form a political group), is reduced to a small number, after the success of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s. As for the sometimes dramatic decline in electoral participation (record fall of 20.02% in Great Britain, followed by the Netherlands with 19.95% and Finland 30%, while Denmark "incarnates the example of the nearly perfect status quo) Pascal Delvit, while recognising the negative consequences in terms of "legitimacy", underlines that, in a more general manner, that abstention in the elections rose in this last quarter century and that, for example, after the elections in June 1997 in France, we could see that the "party of abstention" was, for the first time during the legislative elections of the last decade, "the largest party in France".
Marina Gazzo
*** CHRISTOPHER BOOKER: Nice and Beyond - The Parting of the Ways? Centre for Policy Studies (57 Tufton Street, London SW1P 3QL. Tel: (44-020) 72224488 - Fax: 72224388 - Email: mail@cps.org.uk - Internet http://www.cps.org.uk ). 2000, 63 pages, GBP 7.50. ISBN 1-903219-17-5.
Let us go straight to the conclusions of this pamphlet by Christopher Booker, authors of a weekly commentary in the openly Eurosceptic Sunday Telegraph, pamphlet edited by, in particular, a visit to Strasbourg on the invitation of Nigel Farage, MEP from the 'UK Independence Party. What does this conclusion say?: "The prospect that are developing following the events of 2000 are not that the United Kingdom can decide on its own initiative to leave the European Union. It is that the European Union has put itself in a position to prevent the United Kingdom for remaining. It would be "Europe" who leaves the United Kingdom, rather than the opposite". Can we be more clear? By describing the developments in the EU since the autumn of 1998, a little after the ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty, until today, Christopher Booker takes on both Tony Blair and a little less so William Hague, and adds a post scriptum not entirely correct over the "major concessions" made, according to him, by the Labour party, "after one or two relatively minor changes" , when he had "withdrawn his previous objections to the inclusion of the Charter into the Treaty". Before the Nice Summit Tony Blair "knows how much he is isolated", notes the authors who, over William Hague, notes that "the true problem of the Tories, is that, as with Mr Blair, they have been overtaken by the speed at which the European integration process is presently moving forward".
(MG)
*** Elan. Review edited by the FEC (17 place Saint-Etienne, F-67081 Strasbourg. Tel: (33-3) 88353680 - Fax: 88379983).
In this issue of the fourth quarter 1000 of this periodical is an article dedicated to "Pierre Pflimlin... the European", with in particular a memory of Paul Collowald, his chef de cabinet at the time when the recently lost the French political figure was President of the European Parliament. M. Collowald recalls Pflimlin telling him how, in February 1999, he had gone to Bordeaux "to confront François Bayrou in his idea of forming a "authentic European list" for the elections of the European Parliament", and by going back to September 1962, he recalls that the contribution made at the time by Pflimlin, before the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, to the idea of reinforced cooperation". Nearly forty years ago, Pierre Pflimlin said: "I think we should (…) study what I call a differentiated system. It would include, firstly, a hard core of countries that, progressively, would form a heavily structured Community (…). On the other hand, around this core, we could imagine would articulate, according to the methods that remain to define a group of countries that cooperate with the core group to the extent that their political and economic situation allows them".
(MG)
*** FRANCOIS LONCLE: Vers un charte des droits fondamentaux de l'Union européenne. Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale (Kiosque de l'Assemblée nationale, 4 rue Aristide Briand, F-75007 Paris. Internet: http: //http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr ). 2000, 54 pages, FF 20, EUR 3.05. ISBN 2-11-108734-3.
Now that the contents of the Charter of fundamental rights are known, this progress report made public last March by the MEP François Loncle remains pertinent. Firstly because he raises sources of inspiration for the Charter. The authors notes that it, "under the mask of being new", is in reality part of an already old dynamic created by the Treaties and jurisprudence of the Court of Justice. A dynamic that was only slowed, until now, by the absence of recognition in the EU "of a general nominative power in terms of human rights". Then because Loncle questions the legal value that this text could have and the jurisdictional control that could guarantee its application (according to him, a revision of the jurisdictional appeal procedures before the Court in Luxembourg would should themselves to be necessary). Among others he notes that "the recognition of a simple declinational nature to this charter would be a source of disillusionment and questions as to the value of the exercise". Remark that, it to, remains pertinent.
(MT)
*** ANNE RAMSAY (edited by): Eurojargon. A dictionary of European Union. CPI (91 High Street, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0BH). 2000, 382 pages. ISBN 1-898869-67-7.
If it is at its sixth edition, it is that this work answers to the ever growing needs. Who gets lost in the jungle of acronyms and other strange abbreviations that flourish in the EU? Nobody! Where the interest of this book that deciphers no less than four thousand, from "3SNET" (for Short Sea Shipping Network) to YWU (for Year-Work-Unit). Thanks be given to Anne Ramsay for this beautiful exercise in transparency that is, at the same time, a stone in the garden of technocrats who lead us…
(MT)
*** Revue trimestrielle de droit européen. Dalloz (31-35 rue Froidevaux, F-75685 Paris Cedex 14. Tel: (33-1) 40 654 53 53 - Fax: 40 654 54 71). October/December 1999, 237 pages. Subscription: FF 800.
In this issue of the review lead by Yvon Loussouarn and Jean-Paul Jacqué, Jean-Claude Piris, Director General of the EU Council Legal Service, bring his contribution to the debate (which, since, has grown considerably) on the possibility and opportunity of providing the EU with a constitution. He recalls that the Court of Justice noted that the Treaties on which the EU is founded already include "certain significant elements that appear in the definitions that the legal dictionaries given for a constitution" and wonders if that "constitutional charter" of the EU could be transformed "into a similar constitution to that of a State" After having examined four criteria to which should satisfy a future EU "constitution" so that it may be comparable to that of a State (clearer repartition of competence between EU and Member States, organisation of a EU government, EU sovereignty in the external field and the adoption of a EU constitution directly by (its) people …), he reaches the conclusion that these criteria do not seem to be "adapted to the present sui generis character of the EU".
However, Jean-Claude Piris considers it "possible and desirable" to bring a certain number of improvements to the "constitutional charter" of the European Union - and the political debate that developed since, by accelerating over the last months, notably following the adoption of a draft European Charter of Fundamental rights by the Convention that drafted this Charter, shows that in reality, we could no doubt go further than some "improvements". Among the means to improve the European treaties, the author speaks of a "treaty-charter" unique and simpler (a path that now seems realistic after Nice), a catalogue of rights" (that in the meantime are outlined by the Charter of fundamental rights, even if, for some, it is still imperfect), the reinforcement of democratic legitimacy through the EP (which should result at least in part from the present IGC, and especially thanks to the extension of codecision), the strengthening of democratic legitimacy through " a greater undertaking by the Member States" (notably through greater participation by national parliaments, which is increasingly favoured) the strengthening of the efficiency, independence and authority of the Commission (one of the themes of the present IGC), the strengthening of the "effectiveness, continuity and coherence of Council actions" (Mr Pris, author with the support of the former Secretary General Jurgen Trumpf, of a significant report on the issue, makes a series of concrete suggestions, but it is true the presently, in the IGC, the reform of the Council is practically only considered under the angle of the weighting of votes). One year ago, Mr Pris anticipated the intensification of the political debate on a European "constitution" and felt that, either way, it would require continuing to "improve the existing constitutional elements of the founding treaties of the European Union. A job to star soon after Nice.
(MG)
*** Affari Esteri. Rivista trimestral (19, Largo Fontanella di Borghese, I-00186 Roma. Tel: (39-6) 687 89 26. Autumn 2000, N° 128, 215 pages. Subscription: ITL 85,000.
In this issue of the quarterly review Affari Esteri (of which we only have partial run), Pietro Calamia, who was in particular Permanent Representative for Italy to the European Communities from 1984 to 1990, dedicates an article to the debate on Europe and the Monnet method. He recognises that the frequent allusions to a presumed "overtaking of the Monnet method by the small leave him perplexed", given that we have just opened, in Europe, two new building site for security and defence policy over which we can move forward "only progressively and in stages", since we are tackling the "symbol of the State's sovereignty" that still remain.
As for the reform of the IGC, Ambassador Calamia asserts in particular ((734 et 735)) that a "necessary reform", according to him, is that of the quarterly rotation system of the Council Presidency. And he proposes presidencies of at least 18 months entrusted to 4 to 5 countries and coordinated by the countries with the largest population, which will enable, according to him, to "progressively create better conditions for the politico-institutional dialogue with the Commission and Parliament". According to Pietro Calamia, the role of Mr CFSP "would be better situated in the framework of a Presidency thus reorganised. Furthermore in his eyes, the simplification of reinforced cooperation is probably the most important among the institutional reform on the negotiation table of the IGC and it forms "the most politically viable answer to the concerns of those who fear that an EU formed of 25-30 countries may be paralysed". Thus, he says, "a group of vanguard could form within the EU and would surely have a dragging effect on all of the member countries".
(MG)
*** Le Magazine. Edited by the European Commission DG Education and Culture (200, rue de la Loi, B-1049 Brussels - Tel: (32-02) 2991111 - Fax: 2964259 - E-mail: eac-info@cec.eu.int). N° 13, 2000, 39 pages.
The European Commission presents its "2000 Culture" programme. Its aim: shorten the procedures so that cultural operators receive financial support from the Commission before and not after the demonstrations they organise. The Commission favours concrete cultural realisations. That is to say festivals, expositions, building and restoration aimed at the widest audience including the youth. With, also, special attention dedicated to the poorest people. Two examples: make the attendants participate in theatre or create a European Art Nouveau network that gathers together public and private institutions from 11 European countries. Another point of this programme: think of the education of tomorrow. According to the Commission, one person in two would have a job dependent on new technologies within 5 years. Thus it is necessary to increase the number of surfers in Europe. The initiative named "eLearning" intends to allow Internet access by the end of 2001 to all schools. This includes the poorer countries such as Poland and Hungary. The European Community already put together an aid programme for education ten years ago called Tempus. A project that has proved itself. Other themes broached: international cooperation, training of youth via Leonardo programmes, the promotion of the equality of handicapped students and sport. Not forgetting citizenship: Europe listening to civil society and European information as a strategy for proximity.
*** Sustainable use of European water? Report edited by the European Environment Agency and distributed by the Office of the Official Publications of the EC ( 2, rue Mercier, L-2985 Luxembourg - Tel: (352) 29 29 424 55 - Fax: 29 427 58 - E-mail: info.info@cec.eu.int). Environmental assessment report N° 7, 2000, 35 pages.
Here is a report that provides Ministers, high ranking civil servants and other decision-makers and persons interested in water policy a global view of the major problems linked at the European level. Crucial questions are asked here: What is the stock of water and what quantity is available, what quantity of water is used, what is the quality of our water, what affects our water and how is it managed. So many questions that enable to specify the initiatives to be taken in order to counter the planets needs. Several aims appear: favour the gaining of a good statute for underground and surface water by 2015, promote the sustainable use of water based on the long-term protection of available resources, support the protection of border and cross border waters and stimulate the progressive reduction of pollution by dangerous substances.
*** Europa Regioni. Edited by AICCRE (86, Piazza di Trevi I-00187, Rome, Tel: (33-06) 69 94 04 61 - Fax: 67 93 275- E-mail: http://www.aiccre.it-europaregioni @aiccre.it). N° 32, 13 October 2000. Annual subscription: ITL 100,000.
In summary: not to Europe in Denmark as incentive for institutional reform with regards to the rules of unanimity in the decision making at the European level, a rule for democratic decision-making which some "young" countries, which do not should the long history of Europe. Another theme broached: structural funds: the young and new.
National reviews in short
*** La lettre d'Euskadi. Paris, October 2000, N°39. In summary: The Swedish company Ericsson intends to make Internet mobile phones close to Bilbao as of 2001. The rate of production will be two million per year. To this effect the company is building a new 16,000m2 factory that will be available next May. Other investment: two Japanese days in Bilbao, Victoria builds her museum; EITB invests in the audiovisual and Basque police. *** Inforegio. Brussels, October 2000. In summary: Portrait of a region: Lisbon and the Tage valley, discovery of a Member State: Finland, a bridge between the EU and Russia, event: launch of Interreg III: which has as aim to favour harmonious development, balanced and sustainable throughout the EU. As well as the assessment of the Terra programme: new ideas for the organisation of the territory. *** Slovenia Weekly. Ljublana, October 24, 2000, vol.7. In summary: the final results of the election and an analysis of the political situation, the introduction of licences for animal transportation, the urgency with regards the protection of minorities, the market economy and the development of local media. ***Rassegna. Rome, 31 October 2000, year XLVI, N°40. In summary: the heavy rains in Northern Italy, multiethnic society: the issue of Islam in Italy, mobilisation of farmers against globalisation and lack of support to the nursing profession.